NEW ORLEANS - Ashley Puga added to her collection of hardware as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named the Northwest Nazarene University graduate the 2009 Division II Track and Field Outdoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year.
In addition to Puga's honor, four additional NNU student-athletes were named to the 2009 USTFCCCA Division II Men's and Women's All-Academic Track and Field Teams and the 2009 Division II All-Academic Track and Field Team honors were also released with the NNU men's team finishing 10th-nationally and women's team 11th-nationally.
Puga, a native of Meridian, Idaho, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Northwest Nazarene with a 3.95 cumulative grade point average in business administration and finance. Puga was the 800 meter champion at the Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships winning the event with a time of 2:07.24. She also competed in the 1500 meters at the national outdoor meet finishing eighth overall to earn her second USTFCCCA All-American honor this spring.
Ashley was the 2009 USTFCCCA Outdoor National Track and Field Athlete of the Year in Division II and was earlier named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. Puga ends her career at Northwest Nazarene as the most decorated student-athlete in school history, winning two NCAA Division II national championships and earning NCAA Division II All-American honors nine times.
Joining Ashley on the USTFCCCA Division II Women's All-Academic Team are Jamie Beaty (400m Hurdles/3.44 GPA), Elisa Decker (800m/Relays/3.25 GPA), and Jaclyn Puga (800m/Relays/3.38 GPA), while Dallas Beaty (400m Hurdles/3.56 GPA) was named to the men's All-Academic national squad.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met the NCAA Division II Indoor or Outdoor automatic or provisional national qualifying standard in their respective event.
In the team awards, the Crusader men's team finished the season ranked 10th-nationally in NCAA Division II with a 3.15 GPA, while the NNU women were 11th-nationally with a 3.42 cumulative team GPA.
2009 USTFCCCA D.II Women's All-Academic Teams
1. Northern Kentucky Univ. 3.67
2. Pittsburg State Univ. 3.66
3. Slippery Rock Univ. 3.55
4. Northern State Univ. 3.48
5. Drury Univ. 3.45
6. Truman State Univ. 3.45
7. Southwest Baptist Univ. 3.44
8. Univ. of Findlay 3.44
9. Seattle Pacific Univ. 3.43
10. Michigan Tech Univ. 3.43
11. Northwest Nazarene Univ. 3.42
2009 USTFCCCA D.II Men's All-Academic Teams
1. Univ. of Tampa 3.39
2. Univ. of the Incarnate Word 3.31
3. Augustana College 3.27
4. Drury Univ. 3.24
5. Truman State Univ. 3.24
6. UC San Diego 3.19
7. Univ. of Findlay 3.19
8. Edinboro Univ. 3.17
9. Chadron State 3.15
10. Northwest Nazarene Univ. 3.15