INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - Mara McGill and Heidi Muellenberg of the South Dakota women's Track and Field Team were both named to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American Women's Track and Field/Cross Country Squad, according to an announcement released on Wednesday, June 27 by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America).

The team was determined by a vote of the nation's sports information directors. Both McGill and Muellenberg were named to the ESPN The Magazine All-American squad for the first time. McGill was named to the second team while Muellenberg was a third team selection on the ESPN The Magazine academic squad.

The Academic All-America program annually honors over 1,600 student-athletes who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Division I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championships sports. To be eligible, a student-student must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.0, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by SIDs.

McGill of Beresford, S.D., and Muellenberg of Redfield, S.D., were recently named the 12th and 13th USD student-athletes since 2000 to receive NCAA postgraduate scholarships. McGill and Muellenberg played a critical role in leading the Coyotes to six NCC women's track and field titles, including four straight outdoor league championships, during their athletic careers.

McGill was named the most outstanding female student-athlete in the North Central Conference when league commissioner Roger Thomas presented her with the NCC Honor Athlete honor in May. She is the eighth USD student and fifth female student-athlete to receive the honor. Selected from among seven other student athletes from the NCC schools, McGill was selected based on her success in academics, athletics and community service. As a result of that award, McGill was selected by the NCC to be nominated as a candidate for the NCAA Woman of the Year, which will be awarded later in 2007. She was named USD's Scholar Athlete of the Year in early May. A Summa Cum Laude graduate in May, McGill finished with a 4.0 grade point average in biology/pre-medicine. She was also named an ESPN The Magazine Academic All District VII selection earlier this spring.

A five-time national provisional qualifier, McGill finished second in the NCC heptathlon this spring. A recipient of the Mickelsen Scholarship, she has been inducted into the most prestigious undergraduate honor society in the U.S. - the Phi Beta Kappa society. A year ago, she received the Nelson Shield Award from the USD College of Arts and Sciences as the junior with the highest GPA. In addition, she has made the Dean's List every semester at USD. McGill was named to the 2006 and 2007 NCC Commissioner's Academic Indoor Track and Field Honor Roll and selected to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VII Women's Track and Field/Cross Country second team in 2006 as well as the 2006 U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic DII Squad. Active in undergraduate research, McGill has received a research fellowship from an EPSCoR grant and conducted research in the Basic Biomedical Sciences lab. A mentor to fellow student-athletes, she has been an academic advisor for women's track for two years. She has volunteered at the Newman Center, offering free child care. McGill has also worked at the Welcome Table, a community dinner on Mondays for disadvantaged people in Vermillion. She has been active with the Adopt-A-Grandparent program (pairing students with residents from a local nursing home) and worked with USD's Special Olympics Field Day.

Muellenberg, who graduated with a 3.829 GPA in psychology, was a seven-time All-American. Muellenberg was selected to the NCC Commissioner's Academic Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Honor Rolls in 2007. Named to the 2006 U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic DII Squad, she was a member of both the 4x100 and 4x400m relay teams that set school and state of S.D. records and earned All-American honors at the outdoor nationals in 2006. This spring, she led the Coyotes to top-six finishes in two relays at the 2007 Drake Relays. Muellenberg was a leader on USD's sprint squad that helped the Coyotes win its fourth straight NCC women's outdoor title this spring. She has served as the academic captain for track and field and served as president of the Pre-PA Club. Muellenberg, who was on the Dean's List at USD in seven of eight semesters, has been accepted into USD's PA school. She has received USD's Catie Tobin Senior Female Athlete of the Year Award and also was awarded the Carl B. "Rube" Hoy Award for academic and athletic merit.