Men's Track and Field | 6/22/2016 11:00:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan graduate Max Leonard was named to the first team and senior Eric Rydell was elected to the third team of the 2016 Academic All-America® Division III Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
Both have grade-point averages of 3.93 with Leonard majoring in physics and economics and Rydell majoring in psychology.
 
The two men's track honorees are the first men's track athletes to earn the distinction at the school since hurdler J.C. Anderson in 1985 and they bring the total to 120 for the number of Illinois Wesleyan Academic All-Americans ® since the program began in 1970. The complete list of IWU Academic All-Americans ® is available here.

Leonard (Glenview, Ill., Glenbrook South HS) was the national champion in the discus in the NCAA Division III outdoor championships last month and, as a senior, was a four-time all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin performer. At the CCIW outdoor meet he finished first in the discus and fourth in the shot put and in the CCIW indoor meet he was fourth in the weight throw and seventh in the shot put.
 
Leonard's postgraduate plans are to be an analyst at Cornerstone Research, an economic and financial consulting firm providing analysis and expert testimony in all phases of commercial litigation and regulatory proceedings, in the company's Washington, D.C. office.
 
Leonard was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Omicron Delta Epsilon academic honoraries and served as associate editor of the Undergraduate Economic Review. To read more about Leonard, click here.
 
Rydell (St. Joseph, St. Joseph-Ogden HS) was an All-American with his eighth place finish in NCAA Division III indoor meet and placed 16th in the high jump in the NCAA Division III outdoor championships.
 
At the CCIW indoor meet, Rydell tied a meet record of 6 feet-9 1/2 inches to win the high jump and he was all-CCIW with a second place finish in the high jump at the conference outdoor track meet. He was all-Midwest Region in the indoor high jump and was named IWU's "Most Valuable Performer".
 
Rydell is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta scholastic honorary and has served as a laboratory assistant in the IWU Dog Psychology testing.
 
The 2016 Division III Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, selected by CoSIDA members, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) at their current institution.

This is the fifth year of the expanded Academic All-America ® program as CoSIDA recognizes four teams - NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants. The CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2015-16 Division III Academic All-America® teams program.