Hayes, Mitchler and Newport Receive Academic All-District Awards

     Three UW-Stevens Point athletes achieved first-team Academic All-District honors this spring on teams selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America and ESPN The Magazine.

     Wrestler Mike Hayes, women�s track and cross country athlete Jenna Mitchler and men�s swimmer Garth Newport all earned first-team All-District accolades and are now eligible for Academic All-American honors. Women�s hockey player Amy Statz also earned second-team honors. The teams include all Division II, Division III and NAIA athletes from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana.

     Hayes, a senior from Beaver Dam, placed third in the NCAA Division III at heavyweight this past season for his second straight All-American honor. He was 28-4 with 11 pins and three losses coming to the eventual national champion. Hayes, who also plays football for the Pointers, carries a 3.69 grade point average in Biology with a Chemistry minor.

     Mitchler, a senior from Kaukauna, was a six-time track and field All-American and the national champion in the indoor 800-meter run in 2005. She also was a two-time All-American in cross country, placing 13th at nationals this past fall. Mitchler, who carries a 3.59 grade point in Education, has earned UW-Stevens Point�s female athlete of the year award in an individual sport two straight years.

     Newport, a senior from Berlin, was the conference champion in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke and also swam on two winning relays to help the Pointers to their seventh straight league title. He also was a member of the All-American 200-yard medley relay that placed seventh at nationals. Newport, who has a 3.94 grade point in Economics and Business Administration, won four career individual conference titles and six relay titles.

     Statz, a junior from Wisconsin Rapids, ranked second in Division III in goals against average at 1.22 and fifth in save percentage at .934 while helping the Pointers to a third place finish at the Frozen Four. She became the first goalie in Division III history to post a shutout in the Frozen Four and the fourth to win more than 50 career games. She owns a 3.62 grade point in Athletic Training and was the school�s female athlete of the year in a team sport.