June 28, 2012

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's and women's track & field teams placed four student-athletes on the Horizon League's Academic All-League Team, the league office announced Thursday.

Laura Hamel, Erika Hanson, Shelby Schaal and Dan Simon were named to the team for excelling in both athletics and the classroom.

Hamel capped her Panther career in record-breaking fashion, setting the new UWM standard in high jump to 5-8 1/2 (1.74m) during multi events at the league championships. The senior finished runner-up in both the high jump and heptathlon at the outdoor championships, helping Milwaukee to a second-place team finish overall on the women's side. The nutrition major finished with a 3.49 grade point average, including an outstanding 3.91 GPA during her final semester.

Hanson, a journalism major, also finished her career on a high note. The senior took second in a neck-and-neck finish in the 400m at the league championships, posting a season-best time of 57.21 in the final. She also earned a gold medal at the storied Kansas Relays in the 4x880 yard relay and helped record the fifth-fastest times in UWM history in both the 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams. In the classroom, Hanson finished with a 3.70 GPA.

Schaal continued her assault on the Milwaukee record books, winning the heptathlon at the league meet, breaking the school record in the event and taking a gold medal at the Kansas Relays and finished runner-up in javelin at the league championships, just missing the school record. Schaal, a conservation sciences major, was named to the list for the second-straight year and carries a 3.61 GPA with one year of eligibility remaining.

On the men's side, Simon helped lead Milwaukee to its 18th-straight league title, the longest active streak in the nation. The junior battled through injury to take fifth in the decathlon at the league meet after taking fourth in the event at the Kansas Relays with an impressive score of 6,418 points. The education major boasts a 3.20 GPA overall including a 3.33 mark this past semester.

The Horizon League recognizes student-athletes with Academic All-League teams in each of its 19 championship sports. To be eligible for Academic All-Horizon League consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.00 scale) and have completed at least one year at the member institution, having earned 24 semester-hour or 36 quarter-hour credits.