Bluemel Collects CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American Honor
CoSIDA Release | TU Honors Page
AUSTIN, Texas – For the second consecutive year, Taylor Bluemel earned a spot on the CoSIDA NAIA Cross Country/Track and Field Academic All-America First-Team, as voted on and announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
The 10 member list of First-Team Academic All-Americans consisted of student-athletes from around the NAIA and recognized individuals for academic and athletic accomplishments. Stats and honors from the individual's entire career were considered due to the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season for spring sports.
Bluemel collected her second CoSIDA Academic All-America honor after posting a 3.94 grade-point average in elementary education. The senior will also earn NAIA Scholar-Athlete and USTFCCCA All-Academic honors later this summer.
The Brodhead, Wisconsin native qualified for NAIA Nationals in both cross country and indoor track during the 2019-2020 seasons. During her cross country career, she was a three-time All-Crossroads League finisher, claimed the fourth-fastest time in TU's program history and was a four-time national qualifier. On the track over four years, Bluemel earned NAIA All-American honors in the indoor 3,000-meters and the distance medley relay, finished with all-league honors and qualified for nationals in nine events.
Bluemel is Taylor's eighth student-athlete to earn the CoSIDA Academic All-American honor in 2019-2020. Taylor Athletics led all NCAA and NAIA colleges in 2019-2020 by a wide margin with 40 Academic All-District awards.
Bluemel is the 93rd CoSIDA Academic All-American in Taylor school history and is the 91st since 2010. Of those 93 awards, 50 have been First-Team Academic All-Americans.
The TU women's track and cross country programs have accounted for 18 of those 93 honors, with Bluemel becoming TU's seventh First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.
The CoSIDA Academic All-American award is designed to recognize student-athletes for outstanding achievements in the classroom, as well as on the court or field of play. In order to be eligible for the honor, an athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30, must have reached sophomore status academically with at least one full year at their current institution and must have participated in over half of the team's competitions as a key contributor during the current season.
Student-athletes are nominated for the award by their institution's Sports Information Department and voted on by members of CoSIDA.