INDIANAPOLIS - The Great Midwest Athletic Conference had three talented senior student-athletes represented in the Google Cloud Women's Track & Field Academic All-American listing as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Repeat selections included the Walsh tandem of Sarah Berger and Kaitlyn Barber while Cedarville's Carly Rose earned the national academic award for the first time in her career.
In their first year competing in the Great Midwest, Berger and Barber are now three-time CoSIDA Academic All-Americans during their impressive careers.
Berger was third-team pick in 2016-17 as a junior and a second-team honoree in 2015-16 as a sophomore.
Barber garnered third-team honors last season and was also a third-team pick in 2015-16, when she was also a sophomore. She compiled a 3.97 GPA in pre-physical therapy while Berger is planning to attend graduate school at Grand Valley State after studying pre-med at Walsh with a GPA of 3.91.
The two Walsh stars were two of just four student-athletes to be a three-time selection, and two of three three-time selections on the first team.
Barber, from Toledo, Ohio, is also an extremely decorated student-athlete athlete who is a four-time NCAA All-American. The pole vault specialist finished fourth at the 2018 indoor national championships, fourth at the 2017 outdoor national championships, third at the 2017 indoor national championships, and 14th at the 2016 outdoor national championships.
Berger, from Wadsworth, Ohio, is one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of Walsh University. She recently won the 1,500 meter national championship and became a 10-time NCAA All-American in Charlotte last month. She has been a USTFCCCA All-Region selection in four different sports during her career, and finished runner-up nationally in four other events.
Together, Berger and Barber helped the Cavaliers finish No. 19 at the 2018 outdoor national championships, No. 12 at the 2018 indoor national championships, No. 20 at the 2017 outdoor national championships, and No. 9 at the 2017 indoor national championships. Berger also helped the women's cross country finish No. 12 at the 2017 national championships.
Rose landed on the second team with an impressive 4.00 GPA as she graduated with a degree in management finance. She was a five-time All-G-MAC track performer in the relays both indoors and outdoors.
She was part of the foursome that set the school record in the outdoor 4 x 800 with a time of 8:59.84 at the Texas Relays. That group was recognized as the 2016 Accusplit Relay of the Year
Rose was a three-time NCCAA All-American on the track. She was the 2018 NCCAA indoor mile champion and was a member of the winning distance medley relay squad.
A four-year cross country runner, Rose was part of the NCCAA title team placing 22nd in the 5K in 19:12. She was a Dean's Honor List student earning a degree in business management and earned a spot on the G-MAC Academic Team.
Earning additional representation were two student-athletes on the men's side from Tiffin University who will be seniors in 2018-19 as the Dragons prepare for their first season as a Great Midwest member institution.
Davis Bowers, a junior 3.77 major in criminalistics was named to the first team while teammate Cameron Burrows, a junior with a 3.77 GPA in marketing, was added to the third team.