BOSTON, Mass. – The University of Maine placed four student-athletes on the 2105 America East Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field All-Academic Team, announced on Tuesday.
Wilson Adams (Barrington, R.I.) and Scott Wilson (Scarborough, Maine) were honored on the men's side, while Jaclyn Masters (Auburn, Maine) and Shannon O'Neil (Milan, N.H.) were honored on the women's side.
Adams, a bio-engineering major, is a repeat selection to the team. Adams was named the M Club Dean Smith Award winner as the top male scholar-athlete at Maine in 2015. He is a Maine Scholar-Athlete Award winner and has been named to the America East Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and the Dean's List. Captain of the track and field team, Adams holds the school record in the hammer throw. This season, he placed fifth in the hammer at the 2015 America East Outdoor Track and Field Championships and 25th at the prestigious Penn Relays.
Merrill is a bio/pre med major in the honors college. He has been named a Maine Scholar-Athlete Award winner and named to the America East Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. Merrill is a multi-time Dean's List selection. He was part of Maine's 4X400-meter relay team at the 2015 America East Championships that placed second with a time of 3:16.99. It was the second best time in Maine history. He placed 10th in prelims of the 400m at the America East Championships.
Masters, a nursing major, was an All-Conference selection. She has been named a Maine Scholar-Athlete Award winner, named to the America East Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and the Dean's List. Last weekend, she broke her own record in the pole vault at the ECAC Championships. She placed second in the pole vault at the 2015 America East Championships. She is also part of Maine's 4X100 and 4X200-meter relay teams.
O'Neil is a communication sciences and disorders major. She has also been named a Maine Scholar-Athlete Award winner, named to the America East Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and the Dean's List. She placed eighth in the 800m run at the 2015 America East Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She was also part of Maine's 4X400m relay team that placed sixth at the conference championships.
The All-Academic team was selected using CoSIDA's Academic All-America program as a model. Student-athletes worthy of consid- eration were nominated by member sports information directors and voted on by a committee of SIDs, academic advisors and faculty representatives from all nine-member institutions.
All-Academic squads for team sports are based on the number of athletes that participate in a contest at one time or are typically made up of 10 student-athletes for individual sports, with the exception being in the event of ties. To be nominated for the distinc- tion, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve for their team and participate in at least 50 percent of their team's games or competitions. In the classroom, student-athletes must have a 3.30 GPA and have completed at least one calendar year at their institution. Freshmen are not eligible for consideration.
The University of Maine is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2015. In conjunction with this, the athletic department will celebrate 150 student-athletes achievements over the next year.
