NEW ORLEANS – Southwest Minnesota State University track & field athletes, Rebecca Manteuffel and Connor Wigand, along with the SMSU women’s track & field team, was recently honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for its work in the classroom during the 2020-21 academic year.

Manteuffel and Wigand were both named USTFCCCA All-Academic athletes. To earn All-Academic athlete status, student-athletes must a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher, and achieved an automatic or provisional qualifying mark for either the indoor season or outdoor season.

The SMSU women’s team earned USTFCCA Division II All-Academic status by finishing the academic year with a cumulative GPA of 3.08.

Manteuffel, a senior from Cologne, who was named CoSIDA Academic All-District on July 15, earned All-NSIC honors at the 2021 NSIC Indoor Championships finishing third in the shot put and also placed fourth in the weight throw. She qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships for a third straight season and picked up All-American honors in the weight throw with an eighth-place finish of 18.48m.

During the outdoor season, Manteuffel earned All-NSIC honors in both the discus and shot put finishing second in both events at the 2021 NSIC Championships. She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in both the discus and shot put, earning All-American honors in both events. She placed eighth in the discus at 46.91m and was ninth in the shot put at 14.85m.

Wigand, a senior from Manitowoc, Wis., earned All-NSIC honors at the 2021 NSIC Outdoor Championships with a third-place finish in the discus at 48.82m. During the 2021 NSIC Indoor Championships, Wigand placed second in the shot put at 16.48m to earn All-NSIC accolades for the second straight season.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

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