Huskers Add Three Academic All-America Honors
Lincoln,
Neb. – The Nebraska track and field team continued its academic success
on Thursday as three Huskers earned spots on the Capital One Academic
All-America Men’s and Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country Teams.
Senior Bjorn Barrefors led NU with his fourth honor, becoming
Nebraska’s only four-time academic All-American. Barrefors
was named a first-team honoree for the fourth straight year. On the
women’s side, seniors Mara Griva and Morgan Wilken became first-time
honorees as they were both selected to the second team. The
men’s team now has a total of 23 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans,
including 18 since 2002 when the track and field/cross country team was
created. The women’s team has a total of 26. Nebraska’s nation-leading
total of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans has grown to 307 selections
across all sports. Barrefors completed his career in 2013
as a multi-event athlete and two-time captain for the Huskers. A native
of Stockholm, Sweden, he is a computer science major with a minor in
mathematics/physics. The NCAA Elite 88 Academic Award winner at the
2010 indoor track and field championships, he was a member of two
conference championship teams. Barrefors is a six-time All-American and
a two-time conference champion. He was selected as the 2012-13 Nebraska
Male Student Athlete of the Year and broke school records in both the
heptathlon and decathlon during his career. He received the 2012-13 Big
Ten Medal of Honor, was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and an academic
All-Big Ten selection. Griva earned her first academic
All-America honor in 2013 after completing a stellar Husker campaign as
one of Nebraska’s top jumpers. A two-time captain for NU and native of
Ventspils, Latvia, she is a management/marketing major at Nebraska. She
finished her senior season with a fourth-place showing in the long jump
and a sixth-place finish in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor
Championships. Griva is a 10-time All-American and nine-time conference
champion. She swept the horizontal jumps titles at both the indoor and
outdoor Big Ten Championships in 2013. As a senior, she was named the
2013 Big Ten Indoor Female Field Athlete of the Championships, the 2013
Big Ten Outdoor Female Field Athlete of the Championships and the 2013
Big Ten Outdoor Female Field Athlete of the Year. She is a two-time
academic All-Big Ten honoree. Wilken, a discus thrower and
captain, also capped her Husker career with academic All-America
accolades. She is a native of Crofton, Neb., and is a mathematics and
math education major. A two-time All-American, she represented the
Huskers in the discus at the 2013 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. She
finished fourth in the event at the 2012 Big Ten Championships and went
on to record an eighth-place finish at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor
Championships. Wilken was named a second-team CoSIDA Academic
All-District VII selection in 2011 and is a two-time academic All-Big
Ten honoree.
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