AUSTIN, Texas – A pair of College of Idaho student-athletes reached the pinnacle for collegiate scholar-athletes, as
Alex Martin and
Molly Vitale-Sullivan were named to their respective Google Cloud NAIA Cross Country/Track and Field Academic All-America teams, presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Martin, a junior from Bend, Ore., became the fourth recipient from the Coyote men's track program and the first first-team selection since 2016 – joining current head coach
Austin Basterrechea (2013, 2014),
Max Hampton (2016) and
Matt Goodwin (2015, 2016) in the exclusive club.
Vitale-Sullivan, a junior from Pocatello, earned second-team honors and is the fifth C of I women's track athlete to earn the award – joining
Hillary Holt (2013, 2014),
Hannah Lentz (2015),
Ruth Lewinski (2016) and
Claire Otero (2018).
To be honored, a student-athlete must be nominated by their school's sports information director – with the athlete at least a sophomore in academic standing, maintaining a minimum 3.30 cumulative grade point average and be a starter or key contributor to the team. Athletes must first be selected to one of four 10-athlete All-District team (comprised of all NAIA schools in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas) – with the 40 finalists comprising the Academic All-America ballot.
Both Martin and Vitale-Sullivan had outstanding 2018-19 seasons. Martin earned All-Cascade Conference and NAIA All-America honors in cross country, helping C of I to the CCC title – placing fifth at the NAIA Championships. He added All-America honors with a third-place finish in the 3,000-meters at the NAIA Indoor Track Championships and a fourth-place finish in the 5,000-meters at the NAIA Outdoor Track Championships. Vitale-Sullivan missed the majority of the cross country season due to injury, but rebounded to earn her seventh and eighth all-time All-America honors, taking fourth indoors in the 5,000-meters and fourth outdoors in the 10,000-meters – while winning the CCC title in the 10,000-meters.
