MILWAUKEE, Wis. (July 15, 2009) - Four members of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's track and field team have been named to the Academic All-Horizon League Team for the outdoor track season, the league office announced today.

Senior Holly Nearman and juniors Kelsey Conrad, Abbie Zaspel and Erin Havener were each honored for both the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons in 2009, while Zaspel picked up the award for the 2008 cross country season, as well.

Nearman has established herself as a perennial academic all-league selection for cross country and both indoors and outdoor track. She was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team for the second time this season.

The Monroe, Wis., native was a dual champion at the league outdoor championships, topping the field in both the 5000m and 10,000m. Her exceptional season was not limited to the league meet. She twice broke her own school record in the 5000m, lowering it to 16:36.62, and was named league track athlete of the week four of the five weeks the award was given out. In the classroom, Nearman boasts a 3.703 grade point average as a journalism and sociology major.

Conrad, the Horizon League Indoor Athlete of the Year, was named outstanding track performer at the outdoor league championships. She won the 100m and 200m events, ran with the first-place 4x100m relay and was on the runner-up 4x400m relay. In the 200m, she set a league record in the preliminaries (24.20), and then came back in the finals to lower the standard another 0.15 seconds (24.05). Conrad also earned league track athlete of the week honors once. A kinesiology major, she has maintained a 3.232 GPA.

Zaspel earned all-league second team honors at the league championships, finishing as runner-up to Nearman in the 10,000m. She then scored with a third-place finish in the 5000m. Over the course of the season, she also ran the fourth-best 10,000m time (36:04.57), the 10th-best 5000m time (17:42.33) in school history and ran with the school-record 4x1600m relay. An education major, she boasts a 3.85 GPA.

Havener remained unbeaten in league pole vault competitions in her career during the both the indoor and outdoor seasons, claiming the outdoor title with a school and league-record height of 12-7 1/2. An academic all-league team member for the 2008 indoor season as well, Havener is majoring in nursing and has a 3.563 GPA.