FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2009

Lipsey and Shank named second-team Academic All-District

Joplin, Mo. -- Missouri Southern juniors Ciara Lipsey (Wichita, Kan.) and Kimi Shank (Rolla, Mo.) have been named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District team as voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Both Lipsey and Shank were named to the college division, second-team in District 7. That district consists of NCAA Division II, III, NAIA and junior college schools from the states of Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Wyoming and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. To be eligible for the honor, an athlete must maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA. Freshman and first-year transfers are not eligible.

Lipsey has broken both the indoor (12-04.75) and outdoor (12-11.50) pole vault records at Southern this season. She was an All-American in the indoor season after placing eighth at the Indoor National Meet and was an All-American in the outdoor season after another eighth place finish. She was an All-MIAA selection in both the indoor and outdoor seasons in the pole vault and was ranked fifth nationally in the outdoor event this season. Lipsey has been a two-time member of the MIAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll and a member of the MSSU Dean's List. She has maintained a 3.97 GPA in marketing and management at Southern.

Shank was named the MIAA's Cross Country Runner of the Week four times this season. That award was bestowed on her every week the Lions competed in an event as she helped the Lions repeat as NCAA Regional Champs and was the runner-up en route to an All-Region performance. She was named an All-American after a ninth-place finish at the national meet.

In the track season, Shank set the school record in the indoor 5,000 meters and was a national qualifier in the event. She won both the 5K and 10K at the MIAA outdoor meet, earning All-MIAA status in each event and was the national runner-up in the 10,000 meters this season to earn All-American status. She is a two-time member of the MIAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll, as well as a member of the MSSU Dean's List and has maintained a 3.95 GPA in health promotion and wellness at Southern.