Outdoor Track and Field

BEREA, OHIO -- Baldwin-Wallace Colege track and field standouts, senior thrower Josh Svenson (Wadsworth) and junior NCAA Division III All-American long jumper Kara Weaver (Myrtle Creek, Ore./ South Umpqua), each have earned ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-District IV honors this spring.

Svenson received first-team accolades and now qualifies for the ESPN THE MAGAZINE national Academic All-America ballot while Weaver was a second-team choice.

Svenson, who carried a 3.98 grade point average, graduated this spring with a degree in mathematics and intends to attend graduate school. He placed fifth in the discus and fourth in the shot put at the 2006 Ohio Athletic Conference Outdoor Championship Meet. Svenson was named as the OAC Men's Field Event Athlete of the Week on April 10 for his efforts at the Ohio Wesleyan University Marv Frye Invitational where he won both the shot put and discus.

Svenson is a Dean's List student, a recipient of the Robert Schlea Mathematics Scholarship, received the Charles & Elsie Little Scholarship Fund Award and is a member of the Kappa Mu Epsilon (Mathematics) and Alpha Lambda honor societies. This spring, Svenson was also voted unanimously to the Academic All-OAC Track and Field team. He earned four varsity letters in track for the Yellow Jackets and also was a member of the football team for one season.

Weaver, a junior exercise science / health promotion and education major who carries a 3.7 grade point average, qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship Meet this spring and for the second straight season in the long jump. At the NCAA Meet, she finished 11th despite battling a season-long injury that limited her outdoor meet participation. A year ago, Weaver earned Div. III All-American honors by placing eighth. She has qualified for four straight NCAA national meets (two indoors and two outdoors) since transferring to B-W in the Fall of 2004 from NCAA Division I Columbia (N.Y.) University.

Indoors this winter, Weaver earned All-Ohio honors in the 55-meter dash,long jump and as a member of the 800-meter relay team. At the OAC Indoor Championship Meet, she broke the school-record in the long jump with a leap of 18-feet and three and one-quarter inches.

Outdoors this spring, Weaver earned All-Ohio honors in the 100-meter dash and as a member of the 400-meter relay team. She also earned All-OAC honors in the long jump and 400-meter relay at the OAC Outdoor Championship Meet. Weaver received the Paul "Sparky" Adams Memorial Track Scholarship at the 2005-2006 B-W Honors Day ceremony and was awarded the Outstanding Female Jumper award at the season-ending team banquet.

Weaver is a member of the Dean's List and has received the Jacket Scholar Award two times. She is a member of the Psi Chi and Chi Sigma Alpha honor societies. This spring, Weaver was voted unanimously to the Academic All-OAC Track and Field team.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact B-W Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. To contact Head Coach Dr. Bill Taraschke, please call his office at 440-826-3322, FAX him at 440-826-2192 or e-mail him at wtarasch@bw.edu.