NDSU senior Whitney Carlson was named to the 2011 Capital One Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-America First Team June 23, by a vote of the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Carlson earns her second consecutive first team honor after being named to the third team as a sophomore. She joins Laura Hermanson in 2009 and Sarah Klein in 2005 as first team selections.
The Buchanan, N.D., native has a 4.0 grade-point average in zoology and will be attending dental school at Nebraska in the fall. She won the NCAA Elite 88 Award at the NCAA Championships for having the highest grade-point average of all the competitors. Carlson also was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in May.
Carlson was a first team All-American in the heptathlon after finishing fifth at the NCAA Championships with a school record score of 5,556 points. She also earned second team All-America honors in the long jump after placing ninth with a mark of 20 feet 10 3/4 inches.
The multi-event athlete capped her Summit League career with four titles at the outdoor championships to bring her total to 15 league crowns. Carlson earned both Track Championship MVP and Field Championship MVP for her performance.
During the indoor season, she set school records in the long jump and pentathlon and earned second team All-America honors in both events. She was voted the Summit League Field Athlete of the Year.
To be eligible for Capital One Academic All-America honors, a student-athlete must have a 3.30 or better cumulative grade-point average on a 4-point scale, have sophomore athletic standing and be a starter or key reserve for their team.
