BEAUMONT, Texas - Lamar University had seven student-athletes named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District for both cross country and track and field as announced Tuesday morning. Earning the honors were two men (
Thomas Knoop,
Lloyd Sheppard-Brown) and five women (
Cecile Bogliolo,
Nia Clatworthy,
Cara Inch,
Inca Padfield, and
Neelie Schiel). The five women broke last season's record of three while the two men tied the mark of 2012 (Joe Wade, Tom Wade).
To be recognized for this honor, students must have completed one full year at the institution prior to the year in which they are nominated, obtain a cumulative grade point average of 3.50, and have competed in 90 percent of the team's competitions. Also, they must be ranked in the region's top 50 in a certain event during track and fiekd and/or finish in the top 25 of a cross-country regional.
Clatworthy (Porthcawl, Wales), Padfield (Gloucestershire, England), and Inch (West Yorkshire, England) were all NCAA South Central All-Region members after finishing 14th, 20th, and 21st, respectively, in the regional cross country meet. Leading the women to a second straight Southland Conference title, Clatworthy and Inch took home first team honors while Padfield was a second teamer and the newcomer of the year.
Clatworthy, a 3.90 student in economics, finished in the top 20 in all five cross country meets, including second place at both the Cowboy Jamboree, and the SLC Cross Country Championships. Along the way, she earned SLC Student-Athlete of the Year and runner of the week honors. During the track season, Clatworthy posted two top 10 finishes, including third in the 5,000 meters (16:05.79) at the Texas Relays and breaking the conference 10,000m record (33:12.54) at the Bryan Clay Invitational, which qualified her for the NCAA Regionals.
Inch earned a 3.75 GPA in kinesiology and ran sixth in the SLC cross country meet. On the track circuit, she placed in the top 10 eight times, including being part of the women's gold medal distance medley relay team at the indoor meet.
Padfield, working on a master's in kinesiology, tallied a 3.70 GPA. She was the third top 10 finisher at the conference cross country meet with an eighth-place finish. Padfield posted 15 top 10s in the track and field season, which included second in the 5,000m and bronze in the 1500m at the SLC outdoor meet.
Sheppard-Brown (Cardiff, Wales) collected a 3.57 GPA while working on his master's in kinesiology. A second team honoree in cross country, he won gold in the men's distance medley relay at the SLC indoor meet and bronze at the men's 10,000m at the outdoor portion. Sheppard-Brown also took home a pair of firsts at the Texas Relays 10,000m and the Beach Invitational's 5,000m.
Bogliolo (Nice, France), Knoop (Gorinchem, Netherlands) and Schiel (Chappell Hill, Texas) each competed in the javelin and qualified for the NCAA Regionals. Bogliolo was a 3.83 student working on a master's in kinesiology. She placed in the top five on six occasions, which included second (151-11) at the SLC outdoor meet.
Knoop accumulated a 3.87 GPA with ambitions of a master's in business administration. He posted five top five finishes, including firsts at the Cowboy Relays, where he set a season-best 70.15m (230-2), and at the conference outdoor title meet (223-5).
Schiel completed her first season at LU with a perfect 4.00 in general business. With five top three finishes for the year, she set a school record in the outdoor conference championship meet with 154 feet, which would help get her the gold medal.
