Wieferich Named Second-Team Academic All-American

Katie Wieferich (Marietta, Ohio / Marietta), a 2007 graduate of The College of Wooster, was voted on to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team for women’s cross country/track & field, announced the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Wednesday. Wieferich is the fourth Wooster student-athlete to earn a prestigious spot on an Academic All-America Team® this year, joining Rick Drushal (football), Tim Presto (men’s soccer), and Sheldon Steiner (baseball).

Also a second-team Academic All-American® a year ago, Wieferich was a repeat selection after earning three All-America Team certificates for her work as a distance runner during 2006-07. In the fall, she capped a cross country season that saw her win the All-Ohio Championships (all NCAA divisions and NAIA), the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships for a second time, and the Great Lakes Regional by placing 14th overall among a field of 279 at the NCAA Div. III Championships.

Wieferich sat out the indoor track season, but came back for the outdoor season and picked up right where she left off, taking first at the All-Ohio Div. I Championships in the 10,000 meters (35:41.05). A couple of weekends later, Wieferich was a double-winner at the conference meet for the second-straight season, this time taking the 5000 meters in a school-record time of 16:44.68 as well as the 10,000 (39:05.45). Then, she capped her career with a pair of top-five finishes at the NCAA Div. III Championships, running a near sub-35-minute time in the 10,000 (a school-record 35:08.16) and leading the 5000 meters for awhile en route to a time of 16:59.44 for 3rd- and 4th-place finishes, respectively.

For her career, Wieferich was a five-time All-American, also taking third in the 10,000 (35:53.55) and fifth in the 5000 (17:21.54) at the 2006 national meet, and a five-time NCAC Runner of the Year (2007 outdoor track, 2006 cross country, 2006 outdoor track, 2006 indoor track, 2005 cross country). She leaves with the conference record in the indoor 5000 and outdoor 5000 and 10,000.

Academically, Wieferich graduated magna cum laude and made Dean’s List six semesters, while majoring in chemistry and serving as a tutor in that department. She also received the school’s Sisodia-Williams Prize in biochemistry, and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa national honor society.

Created in 1952, the Academic All-America Teams program now annually honors 816 male and female student-athletes who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.