Complete Academic All-MIAC Team

WINONA, Minn. — Twenty-six Saint Mary's University winter-spring student-athletes earned Academic All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference recognition, it was announced Thursday.

The MIAC recognized an impressive 450 student-athletes from its sponsored winter and spring sports with academic all-conference distinction. That is the second-highest total in conference history, with only the 454 recognized during the 2010-11 winter and spring seasons eclipsing this year's total. Combined with this fall's total of 301 honorees, the MIAC recognized an even 750 academic all-conference selections in 2011-12, which is also the second-highest total number of academic all-conference honoree, trailing only 2010-11's total of 759.

Student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior, or senior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale to qualify for MIAC Academic All-Conference recognition. Athletically, student-athletes in hockey, basketball, baseball, softball and tennis must compete in 50% of their team's varsity regular season contests. Baseball pitchers must appear in 10 contests, while swimmers must qualify for the finals (top 16) in individual or relay events at the conference championships, and track and field athletes must earn honorable mention status (top 8) in individual events or place in the top three as a relay team at the MIAC Championships.

This year's list of Cardinal academic all-conference recipients includes a pair of dual-sport winter-spring athletes — Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) and Julianne Bartosz (Mokena, Ill.) — who were named in both women's hockey and fastpitch softball, while Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) and Jake Traxler (Le Center, Minn.) earned season sweeps. Thelen added a winter-spring academic all-conference honor in fastpitch softball to her fall honor in women's cross country, while Traxler was now academic all-conference in both cross country and men's track and field.

The SMU women's swimming and diving team landed five student-athletes on the MIAC academic all-conference team, while men's hockey and fastpitch softball had four members each.

Nikki Farmer (Medford, Wis.), Andrea Fogel (Haifa, Israel), Abby Kratzke (Dent, Minn.), Linda Tierney (Cloquet, Minn.) and Kristin Wilkes (Savage, Minn.) represented the women's swimming and diving team on the all-conference squad, while men's hockey players Tom Healy (Rolling Meadows, Ill.), Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.), Vincent Unklesbay (Maplewood, Minn.), and Danny Wood (Wilmington, Ohio), and fastpitch softball players Olson, Bartosz, Thelen and Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) were also honored.

Other academic award winners included baseball players Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.), Paul LaNasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.), Curt Swanson (Woodbury, Minn.); Olson, Bartosz and Heidi Martin (Ankeny, Iowa) of the women's hockey team); Justin Loeffler (Winona, Minn.) and Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.) of the men's tennis team; women's tennis players Abby Voigt (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Grace Zachman (Elk River, Minn.); Traxler of the men's track and field team, Kaitlyn Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) of the women's basketball team and Neil Heacox (San Diego, Calif.) of the men's swimming and diving team.