WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Laura Matsen, a recent Whitman College graduate who placed ninth at last fall's NCAA Div. III national cross country championships, has earned Academic All-America honors.
Matsen, a biology major from Seattle, Wash., is a third-team selection on the CoSIDA Women's Academic All-America Cross Country / Track & Field Team. She was named in the College Division, which includes all NCAA Div. II and Div. III schools, as well as all NAIA schools, in the nation.
Matsen, who graduated in late May, was among 15 athletes named to the Third Team. The First and Second teams also included 15 athletes each.
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) administers the Academic All-America program, which is in its 53rd year and has honored more than 14,000 students at all levels for all recognized NCAA sports.
Matsen earned Academic Distinction in seven of her eight semesters at Whitman, graduating cum laude, which requires a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.65 on a 4.0 scale.
Matsen, also a graduate of Seattle's Lakeside School, was a one-year cross country sensation at Whitman, winning Northwest Conference and NCAA Div. III West Region championships in her only year of competition. She then captured All-American honors by placing ninth in the 6,000 meters at the NCAA national championships, finishing just six seconds out of sixth place. She was the top finisher from the western half of the country.
Only the third Whitman woman to qualify for the national championships since Whitman shifted its affiliation from the
NAIA to the NCAA in the mid-1990s, Matsen became the first Missionary to earn All-American honors.
Matsen also won two races during the regular season, in addition to placing second in one race and third in another. Last Nov. 1, running at Lincoln Park in Forest Grove, Ore., Matsen set new course and meet records in winning the NWC championships. Her time was 21:36.78, more than 90 seconds faster than the time she posted on the same course in late September. She also set a new course record in winning the West Region race in mid-November at McIver State Park in Estacade, Ore.
A three-sport athlete who earned a dozen varsity letters in high school, Matsen did not run cross country in her first three years at Whitman. She delved instead into outdoor sports, learning to rock climb and mountaineer. She also began competing in triathlon events, winning a national title in her age and weight group.
Matsen, who joined Whitman's club cycling team as a junior, capped her senior spring season by leading the women's team to a national title in Team Time Trial event. As an individual cyclist, she placed second in the 60-mile road race, losing by a fraction of a second in a photo finish, and took eighth in the criterium event. She placed third in the overall individual scoring.
While at the national championships, which were held May 21-23, in Madison, Wisc., Matsen was invited to take part this summer in an Olympic Development Program training camp. She declined the invitation, however, because of her plans to travel to Ecuador in late June to work with medical teams providing health care services to needy children.
In August Matsen begins her medical school studies at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. She plans a career as a physician with Spanish language skills. This past year, she worked as a volunteer in a health care clinic for migrant workers and as a tutor in a bilingual first grade class.
Matsen's father, Frederick, is a Seattle-area orthopedic physician who specializes in sports medicine. Her sister, Susanna, seven years her senior, is in surgical residency at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her sister, after winning state titles in cross country and track at Lakeside, was a three-time All-American at the University of North Carolina.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information, (509) 527-5902
Email: holden@whitman.edu