EUGENE ? Three University of Oregon men’s track and field athletes - redshirt senior Eric Logsdon, and juniors Matt Scherer and Andy Young - were honored to the ESPN The Magazine Region VIII All-Academic Track and Field squad, and are now up for national honors announced later this month.
The Duck trio were among five Pac-10 honorees on the 10-person list that also included Arizona State sophomore Kal Clark and UCLA junior Erik Emilsson.
Other region honorees selected from outside the conference included Southern Utah sophomore Jess Bamugartner and senior Chad Sanada, Long Beach State junior Steve Holland, UC Davis senior Will Merchad, and Boise State senior Gabriel Wallin.
Bios on the Oregon honorees follow:
Eric Logsdon, RSr., Canby, Ore. ? 3.28 GPA, Finance. In 2005, he was an indoor All-American in the 3,000 (seventh, 8:04.27), and during the indoor regular season, he broke UO school indoor records and ran NCAA qualifying marks in the mile (4:01.86) and 5,000 (13:49.99). Outdoors in 2005, he ran a personal best in the 5,000 (13:40.21) that ranks eighth in school history, and also earned an NCAA at-large invite in the event based on his seventh-place West Regional finish (seventh, 14:03.25). He claimed his third All-America plaque outdoors in the 5,000 last week in the NCAA Championships (12th, 14:20.21), and was also an honoree in 2004 (seventh) and 2003 (eighth), and in cross country in 2002 (41st) and 2003 (29th). In academic circles, he was a Pac-10 All-Academic Second Team in cross country and in track in 2003-04, and an honorable mention in both sports in 2001-02, 2002-03 and fall of 2005 (cross country only).
Matt Scherer, Jr., Sumner, Ill., - 3.63, Business Administration. In 2005, he ranks fourth all-time for Oregon outdoors in the 400 with his season and personal best of 45.70 from the NCAA Championships semifinal last week in Sacramento. Also in the collegiate outdoor finale, he nabbed All-America honors on school record relays in the 4x100 (sixth, 39.20) and 4x400 (third, 3:00.81). He claimed his third straight top-five West Regional finish in the 400 final (fourth, 46.52), and also helped UO to NCAA outdoor invites in the 4x100 (fourth, 39.80) and 4x400 relays (second, 3:07.69). In March of 2005, he claimed his first All-America indoor honors in the 400 (ninth, 47.15) and 4x400 relay (fifth, 3:05.26), and earlier in the season ran indoor UO records in the 400 (45.95) and 4x400 (3:04.17). Before the ’05 collegiate finale, he anchored UO 4x400 relays to school relays and runner-up finishes in the 2004 and 2005 Pac-10 Conference meets and school records in both (3:03.49 / 3:03.27). Academically, he was a 2004 Pac-10 All-Academic First Team pick.
Andy Young, RJr., Newberg, Ore., - 3.81, Physiology, Chemistry, Business. In the recent NCAA Championships, he took 11th in the decathlon with 7,059 points ? four places better than his pre-meet seed based on his season best from his Oregon Invite win (7,329) in mid-April that ranked him 15th nationally at the regular season’s end. Three weeks before, he took second in the 2005 Pac-10 Championships decathlon (7,165) and also scored in the pole vault (eighth, 16-0 3/4). This season he is tied for second on the team season best list in the pole vault (16-6 3/4), and has the team’s second best PR in the pole vault (17-0 3/4). Last year, he made his NCAA decathlon debut (13th, 7,302 points) and finished three places higher than his seed. In Pac-10 conference meets, he has finished in the top-five three times in the decathlon (second-2005, third-2004, fifth-2003), and overall, has topped 7,000 point barrier seven times in his career. In the classroom, he was a Pac-10 First Team All-Academic pick in 2004 and 2003.
More info on the ESPN Academic All-America program is located at the www.CoSIDA.com website.
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