June 4, 2004

Pittsburgh, Pa. - Duquesne University's Ryan Bender (Indiana, Pa. / Indiana), Sarah Fetterman (Elysburg, Pa. / Southern Columbia), Shea McMillan (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) and Melissa Stewart (Indiana, Pa. / Indiana) were named to the 2004 Academic All-District 2 Track and Field/Cross Country Team released by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSida).

Duquesne's three female honorees were more than any other school on the 10-person women's team.

Bender, the Atlantic 10 Men's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year, is a two-time Atlantic 10 All Conference pick. He set a new school record in the 10,000 meters with a time of 30:43.07 in the 10,000 meters at the IC4A Championships last month. Bender, a junior, has a 3.93 GPA as a pharmacy major.

McMillan, DU's school record-holder in the triple jump, has a 3.77 GPA in finance. This is the second consecutive season she has been named to the District Academic Team. McMillan, Duquesne's co-Female Student-Athlete of the Year, was also the Atlantic 10 Indoor and Outdoor Female Track and Field Student-Athlete of the Year.

Fetterman, a junior, won the Atlantic 10 outdoor championship in the pole vault with a jump of 10'10". She has a 3.98 GPA in pharmacy.

Stewart, a sophomore, is the school record holder in both the shot put and discus. She finished third in the discus at the 2004 Outdoor ECAC Championships.

As members of the District 2 team, Fetterman, McMillan, Stewart and Bender will have their names placed on the national ballot, with the 2004 Academic All-America Women's Track and Field/Cross Country Team to be released on Thursday, June 24. The men's team will be announced on Tuesday, June 22. District 2 consists of NCAA Division I schools from Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The track honors continue a string of academic success for Duquesne student-athletes this school year. Duquesne has had a District 2-high total of 17 student-athletes named to 10 of the 12 Academic All-America teams (including women's softball, a sport in which DU does not compete).

The Academic All-America Teams are selected by a vote of the 1,800-member College Sports Information Director's of America. To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00.

2004 ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT 2 WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY TEAM

NAME             SCHOOL           CL     GPA    MAJOR                         
Natalie Bosserman  Lafayette          Sr.     3.90    Math/Economics & Business
Sarah Fetterman    DUQUESNE           Jr.     3.98    Pharmacy
Emily Jadwin       George Washington  Sr.     3.83    Sociology
Kate Johnston      Penn State         Jr.     3.79    Crime, Law & Justice/Sociology
Davina McKenzie    Seton Hall         Sr.     3.94    Accounting
Shea McMillan      DUQUESNE           Sr.     3.77    Finance
Tyechia Smith      Delaware           Sr.     3.64    Behavior Management
Lindsey Stefan     Saint Francis      Sr.     3.83    Self-Design
Melissa Stewart    DUQUESNE           So.     3.90    Chemistry
Jessica Urbonas    Delaware           Sr.     3.87    Animal Science

2004 ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT 2 MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY TEAM

NAME             SCHOOL           CL     GPA    MAJOR                         
Chris Adler        Maryland           Sr.     3.966   Computer Science/Math/Chinese
Darrell Andruski   George Washington  Sr.     3.71    Art History
Ryan Bender        DUQUESNE           Jr.     3.93    Pharmacy
Brian Chaput       Penn               Sr.     3.60    Communications
Eric Eckstrand     Navy               Sr.     3.84    Science
Christian Lemke    Robert Morris      Sr.     4.00    Sport Management
Andrew Maloney     Saint Francis, Pa. Jr.     3.98    Management
Mike Mellas        Bucknell           Jr.     3.83    Theater
Ryan Sheehan       Saint Francis, Pa. Jr.     3.37    Biology
Justin Wotus       Robert Morris      Sr.     3.83    Information Systems

(District 2 covers schools in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia)

Men's Basketball
One team named
Jimmy Tricco (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy College Prep)

Women's Basketball
One team named
Nicole Sinclair (Indiana, Pa./Indiana)

Football
First Team
Mike Hilliard (Homer City, Pa./Homer Center)

Second Team
Ken Chambon (South Fayette, Pa./South Fayette)

Lacrosse (At-Large)
One team named
Kristina Rohall (West Chester, Pa./Henderson)

Rowing (At-Large)
One team named
Karen Predmore (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport)

Men's Soccer
One team named
Jason Kutney (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Borough)

Women's Soccer
First Team
Lauren Bracco (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hallow Hills West)
Caitlin Holmes (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland)

Second Team
Becky Barritt (Denver, Colo./Upper St. Clair (Pittsburgh)

Women's Swimming (At-Large)
One team named
Deidre Rodeheaver (Danville, Pa./Danville)

Men's Track and Field/Cross Country
One team named
Ryan Bender (Indiana, Pa./Indiana)

Women's Track and Field/Cross Country
One team named
Sarah Fetterman (Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia)
Shea McMillan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon)
Melissa Stewart (Indiana, Pa./Indiana)

Volleyball
First Team
Sarah Morrow (Baytown, Texas/Robert E. Lee)

Wrestling (At-Large)
First Team At-Large
Michael Frank (Fox Chapel, Pa./Fox Chapel)

* Duquesne had at least one District 2 Academic honoree on ten different teams the most of any school

Number of teams represented in parentheses:

 1.     DUQUESNE (10)     17
 2.     Bucknell (9)      15
 3.     Delaware (6)      12
        Penn State (5)    12
 5.     Pennsylvania (7)   9
 6.     Princeton (5)      8
        Seton Hall (5)     8
        West Virginia (4)  8
 9.     Lafayette (5)      7
        Maryland (5)       7
        Saint Francis (5)  7
        Towson (4)         7