NEW ORLEANS, LA. -- The Willamette University men's and women's track and field teams have earned All-Academic honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 2012 season.

Members of the Bearcats women's team earned a 3.48 cumulative team grade point average. The men's team finished the year with a 3.22 cumulative GPA.

A total of 137 women's track and field teams and 74 men's track and field teams received All-Academic honors in NCAA Division III. In order to be eligible for such honors, each team must record at least a 3.1 cumulative GPA (4.0 scale).  

Ursinus College (Pa.) attained the highest GPA by a women's team with a cumulative 3.71. California Institute of Technology led all men's teams with a 3.60 cumulative grade point average.

After winning both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Division III titles, the women's track and field team at Wartburg College (Iowa) was named indoor and outdoor Women's Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year with a 3.24 cumulative GPA.

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was selected indoor and outdoor Men's Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year after finishing second at the NCAA Indoor Championships and placing sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. UW-Eau Claire finished the season with a 3.22 team GPA.

The Scholar Team of the Year awards go to the men's team and the women's team placing the highest in the most recent NCAA Championships while also claiming All-Academic honors.

In addition to the Bearcats earning team All-Academic status, three members of the Willamette track and field program were selected to the 2012 NCAA Division III All-Academic Teams as chosen by the USTFCCCA.

Jaela Dinsmore (Sr., Sprints, Hines, OR/Burns HS), Theresa Edwards (Jr., Distance, Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake HS) and Max Faulhaber (So., Throws, Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS) received All-Academic Honors for the Bearcats. See the article about Dinsmore, Edwards and Faulhaber.

In 2012, both the men's and women's teams from Willamette finished in second place at the Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships. At the NCAA Championships, the Bearcats were represented by five athletes competing in a total of six events.