Wayne State College standouts Michaela Dendinger and Derek Lahm were named Thursday to the 2016-17 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Women’s Track/Cross Country Team.
The award, announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America, recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. This is the 12th consecutive year that Wayne State has had at least one Academic All-American.
Dendinger earned second-team honors as she maintained a 3.63 grade point average majoring in biology at Wayne State College. It’s the first time she has received Academic All-American honors.
The Wildcat thrower capped a stellar junior season with three All-American finishes that included a national title in the shot put at last month’s NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Bradenton, Fla. She won the shot put with a new school record toss of 54 feet, 9 1/4 inches, placed second in the hammer throw at 206-1 and came in sixth place in the discus with a top throw of 165-4.
Dendinger was voted the NSIC Female Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year after winning three events at the NSIC Outdoor Championships in May. She recorded first place finishes in the shot put with a personal best mark of 53-10 1/4,, set a new WSC and NSIC meet record throw of 208-5 in the hammer throw and completed the triple crown with a first-place mark of 157-8 in the discus.
Dendinger was named NSIC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week all six weeks during the regular season. She posted NCAA automatic qualifying marks in all three events.
During the indoor season, Dendinger was All-NSIC in the shot put and weight throw and placed 10th at the NCAA Div. II Indoor Nationals in both events.
Lahm earned third-team honors, carrying a 3.91 grade point average majoring in chemistry and health science at Wayne State College. He scored points in three events at the NSIC Indoor Championships in February, earning All-NSIC honors with a third-place finish in the heptathlon (4,970 points) while also placing fourth in the long jump (23-6) and fifth in the triple jump (47-3 3/4).
During the outdoor season, Lahm collected a fifth place finish in the javelin (168-2) at the NSIC Outdoor Championships.
Lahm is a two-time selection to the NSIC Winter and Spring All-Academic Teams and served this year as Vice President of the WSC Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
