Five members of the Mustangs’ track & field and cross country teams were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.

Five Morningside College student-athletes were named to the 2016-17 Academic All-America College Division Track & Field/Cross Country Teams as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The Mustangs’ Alec DeVries, Jacob Green, Kyle Hiser and Jason Kenny were named to the men’s Academic All-America Second Team and Michelle Mumm was a second-team selection on the women’s Academic All-America Team.

DeVries, a senior distance runner from Merrill, Iowa, has a 3.62 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with a major in history.

DeVries earned All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) honors during the 2016 cross country season to earn all-league honors for the third time in his career. He helped the Mustangs gain NAIA All-America recognition in the 3200-meter relay in both the 2017 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons. DeVries finished fifth in the mile and seventh in the 3000-meters at the GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships and eighth in the 5000-meters at the GPAC Outdoor Championships.

Green, a junior middle distance runner from Sioux Falls, S.D., has a 3.86 cumulative GPA with majors in biology and chemistry.

Green earned NAIA All-America honors with a seventh place finish in the 1000-meters at this year’s NAIA Indoor National Championships and ran for Morningside 3200-meter relay teams that earned NAIA All-America laurels in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. He was the GPAC indoor champion in the 1000-meters and was the runner-up in the 800-meters at the GPAC Outdoor Championships.

Hiser, a senior hurdler-middle distance runner from Shenandoah, Iowa, has a 3.63 cumulative GPA with a major in biology.

Hiser ran the leadoff leg for Morningside 3200-meter relay teams that earned NAIA All-America honors in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. He finished sixth in the 800-meters at the GPAC Indoor Championships and seventh in the 400-meter hurdles at the GPAC Outdoor Championships.

Kenny, a junior distance runner from Schaller, Iowa, has a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA with a major in applied agricultural and food studies.

Kenny earned NAIA All-America honors during the indoor track & field season with an eighth place finish in the 1000-meters at the NAIA Indoor National Championships. He finished fourth in the 1000-meters at the GPAC Indoor Championships.

Mumm, a junior distance runner from Neola, Iowa, has a 3.42 cumulative GPA with a major in biology.

Mumm was the runner-up at this year’s GPAC Cross Country Championships to earn All-GPAC honors for the second time in her career and led the Mustangs with a 38th place finish at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships. She earned NAIA All-America honors with a fifth place finish in the 1000-meters at the NAIA Indoor National Championships and was part of Morningside All-America relay teams in the indoor distance medley and outdoor 3200-meter events. Mumm won GPAC individual championships in the outdoor 1500-meters and indoor mile and was the GPAC indoor runner-up in the 1000-meters.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Teams are comprised of student-athletes from NAIA, Canadian and two-year institutions.  Athletes must be of at least sophomore academic status, be a starter or significant reserve, and have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher to be eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.

Click here for the complete 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Track & Field/Cross Country Teams.