June 18, 2009

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Rising senior men's track standout Mark Van Orden (Morris Plains, N.J.) has been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Third Team it was announced Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Van Orden becomes the fifth member of Navy's men's track & field program to earn Academic All-America status and the first since former distance standout Michael Niemi, a 2007 Academy grad, garnered second-team laurels in 2007.

An English major, Van Orden has maintained a 3.57 grade-point average over his first three years in Annapolis. He ranks 27th in military order of merit among the Class of 2010 (1,032 students), has been named to the Commandant's List in all six semesters, while earning mention on the Superintendent's List on four occasions.

Additionally, this past winter Van Orden became the first field athlete in school history to earn Patriot League Men's Track Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.

The 2008-09 track season saw the 6-foot-1 standout solidify himself as one of the Mid-Atlantic's top throwers. During the indoor season, Van Orden dominated the 35-pound weight throw, capturing his first Patriot League crown in the event after earning runner-up honors as a sophomore. He then capped off a brilliant winter campaign by earning IC4A All-East honors with a fourth-place and career-best 63'4" (19.30m) toss.

The Morris Plains, N.J., native's prowess extended into the spring where he successfully defended his conference hammer throw title on his way to earning Patriot League Field-Athlete of the Meet honors.

On the strength of his career-best 200-foot, five-inch throw (61.08m) recorded on March 28, Van Orden concluded the outdoor campaign as the 40th -ranked hammer thrower in the country.

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) has been selecting the nation's pre-eminent Academic All-American team for over one-half of a century.

To be considered for the award, student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing, attained a minimum 3.30 cumulative grade-point average and have competed in a standard proportion of their team's competitions.

Naval Academy student-athletes have now totaled 69 Academic All-America certificates over the years, with 36 of those awards coming since the start of the 1999-2000 academic year.

## GO NAVY! ##