July 14, 2009

2009 All-Academic Team

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Four Illinois women's track and field athletes were named to the 2009 Division I All-Academic Track and Field team, announced on Monday by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Junior Alecia Beckford-Stewart, junior Angela Bizzarri, sophomore Chantelle Groenewoud and freshman Kristin Sutherland earned this honor for their academic and athletic achievements during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.

Beckford-Stewart took seventh in the long jump at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships and finished fourth in the heptathlon at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. The Brampton, Ontario native also took home Academic All-Big Ten honors this year and is a kinesiology major with a minor in chemistry.

Bizzarri is a seven-time All-American between track and cross country, winning the 2009 NCAA title in the 5,000m. The Mason, Ohio native was named a 2009 second-team Academic All-American by ESPN the Magazine, has earned Academic All-Big Ten honors four times and is a molecular and cellular biology major.

Groenewoud competed in the 3,000m steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the second straight year, becoming the second-fastest steeplechase performer in school history. The North Vancouver, B.C., native also was named Academic All-Big Ten this year and is enrolled in general curriculum.

Sutherland, the Orland Park, Ill., native, placed 15th in the 5,000m at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships and is majoring in business.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either the NCAA Division I Indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard or the NCAA Division I Outdoor regional or national qualifying standard in their respective event.