WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Two Whitman College athletes have been named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District At-Large teams.
Brad Changstrom, a men's tennis player, and Laura Valaas, a nordic skier, are among the 20 student athletes named to the At-Large teams in the College Division of District VIII. The district includes all NCAA Div. II/Div. III and NAIA schools in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona, as well as British Columbia.
The At-Large teams represent student athletes in a variety of sports, including golf, skiing, gymnastics, ice hockey, swimming, lacrosse and tennis.
Players on All-District At-Large teams from around the nation are now eligible for election to the Academic All-America teams. That voting will take place in June. The College Sports Information Directors of America (Co-SIDA) administers the Academic All-America program, which is in its 54th year and has honored more than 14,000 students at all levels for all recognized NCAA sports.
Changstrom, who graduated from Whitman on Sunday, was named to the men's All-District team for a second consecutive year. He also was named to the Academic All-America team last June.
Valaas, a junior who also ran cross country in the fall and excelled with the cycling team in the spring, was elected to the women's All-District team for the first time.
Changstrom, who majored in biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, compiled records of 17-7 in singles and 13-7 in doubles this spring for the defending Northwest Conference champion tennis team. He served as a team captain for a second consecutive season, and he was named NWC Sportsman of the Year for men's tennis.
A graduate of Thompson Valley High School (Loveland, Colo.), Changstrom volunteered two summers ago at McKee Medical Center in Loveland, dividing his time between the emergency room and assisting patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Last summer, he received a National Science Foundation undergraduate grant to work as an intern in the University of Notre Dame's Department of Biology, assisting with research into Huntington's Disease, a genetically programmed degeneration of brain cells.
During his senior year, Changstrom assisted Ginger Withers, a member of the Whitman biology faculty, with brain development research. He is continuing his research this summer with Withers and Chris Wallace, also a member of the biology faculty. He plans to pursue graduate studies in medicine or medical research.
Changstrom, the son of Craig and Linda Changstrom of Loveland, Colo., graduated cum laude from Whitman with honors in his major. He has been elected to Sigma Xi, an international honor society of research scientists and engineers.
Valaas, a mathematics major at Whitman, enjoyed a banner year in both nordic skiing and cycling.
Competing against an international field at the NCAA Skiing Championships (Div. I, II, III), she placed fifth in the 5-kilometer classic and ninth in the 15-kilometer freestyle, earning All-American honors in both events. She was the first Whitman nordic skier to qualify for the NCAA championships since Whitman began competing in NCAA skiing three years ago. She also became the first Whitman skier named to the All-Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) Team. She capped the RMISA regular season by placing third and fifth in two events at the NCAA West Region Championships.
As a sophomore, Valaas was one of seven women chosen to compete for the U.S. at the Under-23 World Cross Country (nordic) Championships.
|
|
|
|
In mid-May, Valaas was a key contributor as the Whitman cycling team captured the National Collegiate Cycling Association (NCCA) Division II national championship in Lawrence, Kan. She placed second in the fast-paced criterium and fourth in the road race. She and three teammates also won the women's team time trial for a second consecutive year.
Valaas is serving a two-year term as the sole athlete representative on the NCCA's first-ever Board of Directors. The NCCA, which operates under the USA Cycling umbrella, takes an active role in setting rules and eligibility standards for collegiate cycling. Valaas also was co-chair this past academic year of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee at Whitman.
In April, Valaas gave a presentation at the Whitman Undergraduate Conference on research she did last summer at the Washington State University Fruit Tree Research Center in Wenatchee, Wash. Her research focused on effective implementation of pheromones to control the codling moth, an orchard pest, by disrupting its mating patterns.
Valaas, a graduate of Wenatchee (Wash.) High School, is the daughter of Susan and Peter Valaas of Wenatchee. Peter Valaas is a 1975 Whitman graduate.
Valaas, who is minoring in physics and gender studies, plans to pursue a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering after completing her Whitman studies.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information, (509) 527-5902
Email: holden@whitman.edu