AUSTIN, Texas --- Moravian College junior national champion Mary Kate Duncan has been named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America NCAA Division III Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Second Team selected by the College Sports Information Director of America.
To be eligible for Academic All-America® accolades, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.30 grade-point average, be a sophomore, junior or senior and be a starter or significant reserve. Beginning in 2011-12, the program is made up of four levels – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and College Division (NAIA, Canadian colleges and junior colleges). Duncan was on the All-District IV First Team to advance to the national ballot, and District IV in NCAA Division III is made up of schools from Pennsylvania. Duncan is Moravian's 47th Academic All-American®.
"Mary Kate is one of the most disciplined and responsible athletes we have on our team," stated Head Coach Jesse Baumann. "In javelin that's critical since there is so much of an offseason where you don't get to compete, but you need to remain focused and driven in order to train, lift, and prepare for the outdoor season. It's no surprise that those character traits carry over to the classroom as well. She has a high GPA in a challenging medical-focused major. Mary Kate is truly is what being a student-athlete is all about."
This spring, Duncan won the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Javelin National Championship with a personal best and tenth longest in school history of 46.26 meters (151-9) on the opening day of the 2017 NCAA Division III National Championship meet hosted by The University of Mount Union and the City of Cleveland at the SPIRE Institute on May 25. She became Moravian's 21st NCAA Division III National Champion and the 20th from the track & field program. Duncan is the second Greyhound to win the women's javelin title, joining former Hound, Danish Olympian and Academic All-American Christina Scherwin, who won the title in 2002 and 2003, the latter with a meet record toss of 55.34 meters (181-6) that still stands.
She also won the 2017 ECAC Division III Championship in the javelin with a PR throw of 45.82 meters (150-4), which was the second-best thrown in the nation this season at that point. Duncan is a two-time runner-up in the javelin at the Landmark Conference Outdoor Championships in 2016 and 2017, and she was an All-American in the event in 2016 with a fifth place throw of 44.19 meters (144-11) last spring.
Off of the field, Duncan is majoring in Public Health, and she has a 3.79 GPA. She is a two-time selection to the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll, and she has made the dean's list in each of her semesters at Moravian. Duncan is a member of the Newman Association and Spanish Club on campus. She was elected as the Junior Class representative to Student Government.
To view the entire 2017 Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Teams, visit http://www.cosida.com.
