Mars Hill’s Stoehr, Wingate’s Watson Named to Academic All-District Track & Cross Country Team

ROCK HILL, SC -- Mars Hill College senior Jon Stoehr (Antigo, WI) and Wingate University sophomore Jayce Watson have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III track & field/cross country first team, selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America).

District III (college division) includes all non-NCAA Division I schools (Division II, III and NAIA) in Florida, Georgia, Virginia and North and South Carolina. The 20 first team selections (10 women, 10 men) advance to the national ballot for 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® honors.

Jon Stoehr

Jayce Watson

Stoehr, from Antigo, Wisconsin, carries a 3.91 GPA as a Sports Management major. He was named to the All-Academic Team by the DII Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association for the past three years and was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection in 2006. He was in the Honor Scholar program at Mars Hill and received the Trustee Scholarship.

This year, Jon was the SAC Runner of the Year after winning the SAC Championships and then was named the NCAA Southeast Region Runner of the Year for winning that race. He won five races outright and was undefeated against conference and region competition, as well as recording the third-fastest time ever in SAC history this season. He finished second in last year's Food Lion SAC Championship race, behind former teammate Daniel Amick.

In the community, Stoehr is a role model for the DARE program and participated in Community Health Service Foundation projects and has been a volunteer track and cross country coach for Special Olympics. He serves as treasurer for the Student Government Association executive board as well as the Mars Hill College representative on the local Habitat for Humanity board of directors. He has also served as a student assistant for the Lions' men's basketball team the past two seasons.

Watson capped off his sophomore cross country season with a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship meet in Florida. During the 2006 season, Watson won the Erskine Invitational on October 12 and finished second in four other events. Watson finished second in the 2006 Food Lion SAC championship race.

Watson posted school records in the 8K (25:54) and 10K (31:50) during the 2006 season. Watson earned the first-ever trip to nationals for a Wingate male runner, posting a school-record 10K time of 31:50 in Pensacola. He was the SAC Freshman Runner of Year in 2005. He is a two-time All-SAC and All-Southeast Region performer. Watson is a Chemistry/Business major with a 3.72 GPA.

2007 Academic All-District Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Team District 3

College Division

Mark Banks VIRGINIA WESLEYAN III Sr. Montgomery Village, Md. 3.63 Criminal justice
Kevin Beachy EASTERN MENNONITE III Sr. Baltic, Ohio 3.54 Spanish, preK-12 education
Tom Brower WASHINGTON & LEE III Jr. Syracuse, N.Y./ 3.98 Politics
Laurias Eugene ST. AUGUSTINE'S III Sr. Miami, Fla. 3.53 Criminal justice
Issreal Jaimes ST. AUGUSTINE'S III Sr. Wilson, N.C. 3.87 Accounting
Jon Stoehr MARS HILL III Sr. Antigo, Wis. 3.91 Physical education
Francois Theriault GREENSBORO III Jr. St. Etienne, Quebec 3.9 Business
Jayce Watson WINGATE III So. Millersport, Ohio 3.72 Chemistry, business
Omar Wiggan ST. AUGUSTINE'S III Jr. St. Ann, Jamaica 3.74 Human performance& wellness
Jeff White SOUTHERN VIRGINIA III Jr. Tyrone, Pa. 3.92 History, philosophy