Indiana University Athletics
Excelling in the Classroom and on the Track
2/17/2016 3:08:00 PM | Track and Field
By: Tori Ziege | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Before Nakel McClinton started to find success in the weight throw, before she launched the longest toss in Indiana history, not once, not twice but for a third time at last weekend's Hoosier Hills Invitational, she always took pride in her grades.
The school record holder and redshirt junior has maintained a 3.8 GPA every semester since graduating high school.
"Even when my athletic performances weren't going well, my GPA has always been constant," she said. "I know that my grades will always cheer me up."
Student-athlete is a two-part word, but in the discussion of collegiate athletics, the first part is often left off. At halftime of Thursday's men's basketball game, four members of the IU track and field team were recognized for their merits as students.
McClinton, junior Olivia Hippensteel, sophomore Zach Reitzug and redshirt junior Matt Schwartzer took the court along with members of all 24 IU sports as this year's recipients of the IU Varsity Club Scholastic Achievement Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA of any member of their respective team.
Looking across the men's and women's track teams, the best athletes also tend to have the best grades, McClinton said. It's a mindset head coach Ron Helmer has tried to instill in his teams — that success is largely a reflection of effort.
"Most of academics isn't about who's the smartest, it's mainly about doing the work and doing it on time," Schwartzer, the men's cross-country honoree, said. "Same thing with training. You just have to put in the time and be willing to take some sacrifices. If you do it in one, it's easy to translate to the other."
Schwartzer, a two-time recipient of the Scholastic Achievement award, is an entrepreneurship and corporate innovation and supply chain management double-major in the Kelley School of Business. He spent the past summer interning with Next Financial firm in his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Hippensteel, the women's cross-country designee, has also had the opportunity to gain experience in her field as a camp counselor and intern with her local school district in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
After completing her bachelor's degree in human development and family studies with a minor in public health and psychology, she plans to continue on to graduate school to become licensed as mental health counselor, with a specific interest in helping middle school and high school students.
"I think that's a really crucial time frame for kids that people need to be more sensitive to," she said. "There needs to be more adults trying to come alongside the kids and be role models for them."
As a second-year transfer student, Hippensteel has seen her development in the classroom parallel her development as a runner. She achieved a personal record in the 6k during the cross-country season and traveled with the team to meets, an opportunity not often given to middle distances runners, such as herself, whose primary sport is track.
She attributes that growth to Helmer's training and to the higher academic standards at IU, which have pushed her more than she was accustomed to at her previous school.
"Athletics and academics here at IU have pushed me to be go further than my comfort zone," she said. "It's really rewarding seeing how the struggle can make something good."
Though many perceive juggling strong academics and Division-I athletics to be too tall a challenge, Hippensteel said there are actually a lot of advantages to being a student-athlete. She believes the ability to perform well in high stress situations molds athletes into better students, and down the line, better employees.
Reitzug agrees. A sprinter and student in the Media School, he said his athletics experience has taught him strong time management and discipline. Though he'll be the guy reading his textbook on the team bus if he needs to be, he often tries to get all his work done before the weekend so he can focus on the meet at hand.
"I try to have the same mentality in the classroom or at home doing my work that I do on the track," he said. "If I do my best, then the results will come with it."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Before Nakel McClinton started to find success in the weight throw, before she launched the longest toss in Indiana history, not once, not twice but for a third time at last weekend's Hoosier Hills Invitational, she always took pride in her grades.
The school record holder and redshirt junior has maintained a 3.8 GPA every semester since graduating high school.
"Even when my athletic performances weren't going well, my GPA has always been constant," she said. "I know that my grades will always cheer me up."
Student-athlete is a two-part word, but in the discussion of collegiate athletics, the first part is often left off. At halftime of Thursday's men's basketball game, four members of the IU track and field team were recognized for their merits as students.
McClinton, junior Olivia Hippensteel, sophomore Zach Reitzug and redshirt junior Matt Schwartzer took the court along with members of all 24 IU sports as this year's recipients of the IU Varsity Club Scholastic Achievement Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA of any member of their respective team.
Looking across the men's and women's track teams, the best athletes also tend to have the best grades, McClinton said. It's a mindset head coach Ron Helmer has tried to instill in his teams — that success is largely a reflection of effort.
"Most of academics isn't about who's the smartest, it's mainly about doing the work and doing it on time," Schwartzer, the men's cross-country honoree, said. "Same thing with training. You just have to put in the time and be willing to take some sacrifices. If you do it in one, it's easy to translate to the other."
Schwartzer, a two-time recipient of the Scholastic Achievement award, is an entrepreneurship and corporate innovation and supply chain management double-major in the Kelley School of Business. He spent the past summer interning with Next Financial firm in his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Hippensteel, the women's cross-country designee, has also had the opportunity to gain experience in her field as a camp counselor and intern with her local school district in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
After completing her bachelor's degree in human development and family studies with a minor in public health and psychology, she plans to continue on to graduate school to become licensed as mental health counselor, with a specific interest in helping middle school and high school students.
"I think that's a really crucial time frame for kids that people need to be more sensitive to," she said. "There needs to be more adults trying to come alongside the kids and be role models for them."
As a second-year transfer student, Hippensteel has seen her development in the classroom parallel her development as a runner. She achieved a personal record in the 6k during the cross-country season and traveled with the team to meets, an opportunity not often given to middle distances runners, such as herself, whose primary sport is track.
She attributes that growth to Helmer's training and to the higher academic standards at IU, which have pushed her more than she was accustomed to at her previous school.
"Athletics and academics here at IU have pushed me to be go further than my comfort zone," she said. "It's really rewarding seeing how the struggle can make something good."
Though many perceive juggling strong academics and Division-I athletics to be too tall a challenge, Hippensteel said there are actually a lot of advantages to being a student-athlete. She believes the ability to perform well in high stress situations molds athletes into better students, and down the line, better employees.
Reitzug agrees. A sprinter and student in the Media School, he said his athletics experience has taught him strong time management and discipline. Though he'll be the guy reading his textbook on the team bus if he needs to be, he often tries to get all his work done before the weekend so he can focus on the meet at hand.
"I try to have the same mentality in the classroom or at home doing my work that I do on the track," he said. "If I do my best, then the results will come with it."
Players Mentioned
Middle Distance
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Throws
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Sprints/Hurdles
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Distance
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