Three Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field Athletes Named Academic All-District

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Carnegie Mellon University had three athletes named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team for men's cross country and track and field for the 2012-13 season; senior Evan Gates (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson), junior Josh Newby (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) and sophomore George Degen (Madison, Wis./West).  CoSIDA recognizes outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments by honoring deserving athletes with All-Academic recognition with the official sponsor of Capital One.

Carnegie Mellon is part of District 4 which is comprised of all Division III schools in the state of Pennsylvania.

All three runners helped lead the Tartan cross country team to a 17th-place finish at the Division III Championships in the fall while Newby and Degen helped the indoor track and field team claim its first ever University Athletic Association (UAA) team championship in February.  Newby also competed at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Division III Track and Field Championships last week in the 3000-meter steeplechase.  All three runners were selected to the All-Academic team by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in the fall.  

This marks the second straight year that Gates has been honored with the award, as last season he was also named a CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American. Gates, a biomedical engineering major, carries a 4.00 GPA and received the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in March.  He became a three-time All-Mideast Region runner in the fall after placing sixth at the regional event for the second consecutive year.  

Newby for the second straight season won the UAA 3000-meter steeplechase title at the outdoor meet while breaking his own meet record he set during his sophomore campaign. The junior was part of the distance medley relay that won the UAA title during the indoor championships.  In the fall, Newby also garnered All-Mideast Region honors in cross country after placing eighth at the regional.  At the Carnegie Mellon Invitational this past fall, Newby set the Schenley Park cross country course record by three seconds.  Newby is an industrial design major with a minor in human computer interaction and currently carries a 3.47 GPA.

Degen, a chemical engineering major, has a perfect 4.00 GPA.  In the fall, the sophomore crossed the finish line 18th at the cross country Mideast Regional to earn All-Region distinction.  At the UAA Indoor Championships, Degen turned in a second-place finish with a career-best time in the 5,000-meter run.  

Gates, Newby and Degen now move on to the national ballot for Capital One Academic All-America consideration.