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Jun 15, 2006: ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First-team Honor For Virginia Wesleyan's Jehl
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WALTHAM, Mass. - Academic All-America history at Virginia Wesleyan College has added another entry as Kristen Jehl has become the third Marlin student-athlete to receive prestigious ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first team honors.
Jehl (Campton, N.H./Plymouth), a consistent defensive leader for the field hockey and lacrosse teams, was named to the 15-member At-Large first team by the College Sports Information Directors of America only two days after Eric Caudill (Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) received the same recognition on the men's at-large team. Baseball standout Brent Vuyovich (Kitty Hawk, N.C./Manteo) received first-team honor in his sport earlier in the month.
It is the first time three Virginia Wesleyan student-athletes have received first-team honors in the same athletic year. It is also the first Academic All-America honor for Caudill and Vuyovich, and the second for Jehl. She was a second team honoree last year, which included a third-team national award in field hockey for Alexis Byrd. Virginia Wesleyan student-athletes have received 10 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors since 1979, including nine since the 2000-01 season.
Overall, 46 women received At-Large recognition from CoSIDA this year, with Jehl named to an impressive first team that included 11 women with grade point accumes of 4.00 or higher from Division II and Division III colleges and universities in Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Jehl compiled a 3.94 GPA as a double major in criminal justice and sociology, recording a GPA of 3.86 or higher every semester. She graduated summa cum laude in May with honors in both majors.
A Dean's List student every semester in the past four years, Jehl received numerous accolades, including the 2006 American Association of University Women Award. She was also a member of Alpha Kappa Delta, the national honor society for sociology, and a member of Alpha Phi Sigma, the national honor society for criminal justice.
Her outstanding senior year included distinction as the first Virginia Wesleyan student-athlete to receive a prestigious National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Postgraduate Scholarship. She is also the first VWC student-athlete to receive three CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and the first to receive the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete-of-the-Year twice. She was a 2005 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association national academic team member and a three-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association national all-academic team member.
As a two-sport standout, Jehl helped guide the Marlins to regular season first-place Old Dominion Athletic Conference finishes in both field hockey and lacrosse this year. The Virginia Wesleyan field hockey team posted a 7-1 league during a 13-6 season and the lacrosse team finished 7-1 in the league and 14-4 overall. She received All-ODAC honors in both sports as a senior.
Jehl played and started in 76 career field hockey matches, starting her career as a leader in the offense. She recorded a Virginia Wesleyan record four assists against Hollins University and finished that rookie season as the team leader in assists. As a sophomore she was converted to defense and has emerged as one of best defensive leaders in Virginia Wesleyan history.
She helped guide Wesleyan to a four-year record of 55-22 overall and 29-6 in league, two regular-season first-place finishes, two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III championship tournament appearances, one league title and the first two national rankings for the program.
Her contributions to the success of the lacrosse program are just as impressive, as she has helped the Marlins to a three-year record of 41-12 overall, 21-3 in the ODAC and to two league title games. Jehl has played and started in every game in last two seasons and has been key to the team's success as aggressive defensive player.
Jehl will continue her education in the fall at Old Dominion University's graduate program in Applied Sociology.
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