Jay Welp was named a second-team Academic All-American.

Jay Welp, a senior from Marcus, Iowa, was named to the second team of the 2014-15 Capital One College Division Academic All-America Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field Team as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Welp has a 3.67 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with a major in science teaching.

Aside from his exploits in the classroom, Welp earned NAIA All-America honors on the track this past season with a fifth place finish in the 1000-meters at the 2015 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships. He was one of the top performers at this year’s Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships when he won a distance triple with victories in the mile, 1000-meter, and 3000-meter runs. Welp set Morningside records with times of 2:27.20 in the 1000-meters and 4:11.86 in the mile during the indoor season. Welp was a NAIA national qualifier in the 1500-meters during the outdoor season and was the GPAC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year this past fall after he was the men’s individual champion at the GPAC Cross Country Championships.

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 Capital One Academic All-America honors.

Morningside’s track & field team has produced 16 Academic All-Americans since 2009, including at least one in each of the last five years.

Click here for the complete 2014-15 Capital One College Division Academic All-America Cross Country/Track & Field Team.