IWU’s Anderson Named First Team Academic All-American

June 27, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A 10-time NCAA Division III All-American for her track achievements, Illinois Wesleyan junior Rachel Anderson has been elected to the first team of the ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-America women’s track and field squads chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Go here for complete CoSIDA press release on 2007 teams.

A Clinton, Ill. High School product, Anderson has a 3.76 grade-point average as a business major and plans to attend pharmacy school after college graduation. She is an academic all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin selection, is a member of a campus Christian ministry and serves as an IWU Admissions Office ambassador.

She was the national NCAA Division III indoor 400 champion in 2006 and 2007 and was also the national outdoor 400 champion. In this spring’s outdoor meet, she was second in the 400 and sixth in 200.

Anderson is a three-time CCIW indoor 400 winner and two-times in the outdoor 400 as well as the CCIW indoor and outdoor 200 champion in 2006 and 2007.

She ran on the second place 1,600 relay team in the 2007 NCAA indoor meet after her 1,600 relay team placed eighth indoors in 2006. As a freshman (2005) she was second in 400 indoor national meet and fifth outdoors.

To be considered for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® squads, players must be of at least sophomore standing, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 (of 4.0), and be a starter or first-line reserve. A voting board representing the 1,800 members of CoSIDA chooses the teams.

Anderson’s selection gives Illinois Wesleyan a total of 105 Academic All-America berths earned by Titan students since the program began in 1970, a total eclipsed by only six other schools, including Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Anderson is the first IWU women’s track athlete to earn Academic All-American honors and the first Titan track athlete to be elected for the award since J.C. Anderson was a first team choice in 1985.

CONTACT: Stew Salowitz, 309-556-3206