May 31, 2006
, - of track and field athletes Andrew Smith (, /Coshocton) and Karen Berling (/Seton) have been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District IV second team.
Smith, a 2005 NCAA Regional qualifier in the high jump, finished fourth at this year's BIG EAST Championships with a 6' 8-1/4" clearance. He finished third at the 2005 All-Ohio Championships with a personal-best 6' 10-3/4" leap, which ranks sixth in school history. Smith, a junior industrial management major, holds a 3.84 GPA.
Berling was the leader on the Bearcat cross country team last fall, concluding the year as UC's top finisher in all but one race, including a win at 's Flyer 5K. During her track career, she placed seventh in the 10,000 meters at last year's Conference USA Championships and was the 2004 All-Ohio Indoor Champion in the 5,000 meters. In the classroom, Berling has thrived as a middle childhood education major. She holds a 3.91 grade point average and earned three Conference Commissioner's Academic Medals for having a cumulative GPA over 3.75. Berling has been selected her team's Scholar Athlete of the Quarter four times during her career and was named UC's 2005-06 BIG EAST/Aeropostale Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
District IV consists of all NCAA Division I universities in , , , and . The CoSIDA Academic All-America teams will be announced on June 20 (men) and June 22 (women).