DAYTON FLYERS PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
In only his first year at the helm of the UD women's track and field team, head coach Adam Steinwachs guided the 2007-2008 squad to its best-ever finishes in both the Atlantic 10 Outdoor and Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The 2007-2008 season could be easily labeled one of the most successful in program history as Dayton finished second in both conference championships.
The second place finishes marked the first time in school history that the Flyers took one of the top slots in the A-10. Dayton's previous finishes were as high as fifth at the Indoor Championships and fourth at the Outdoor Championships.
Here are some of the other program achievements:
UD was led throughout the season by its throwers. Freshman and A-10 First Team selection Johnna Zaccari picked up the shot put title at the Indoor Championships, while fellow teammate Sarah Allen, also a first team and all-academic honoree, won the outdoor title.
The Flyers had a tremendous indoor season that set the tone for the rest of the year. Dayton won two of its seven indoor meets and placed a program-best second out of 12 at the A-10 Indoor Championship. The other five meets were not team scored.
The University of Dayton track and field team has been honored as one of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division I All-Academic Teams. Dayton's squad has the 23rd best cumulative team grade point average as 117 Division I women's track and field programs were recognized by the USTFCCCA.
In 2007-08 the Dayton Flyers posted a team grade point average of 3.362, one of the best among UD athletic programs.
UD has traditionally been one of top academic performers in the nation and that was backed by the NCAA on Tuesday with the release of the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) reports.
The Flyers had the unique opportunity to train with one of the world's best pole vaulters in April working with 2008 Silver Medalist and this year's 2008 USA Indoor Pole Vault Champion and World Indoor Championship silver medalist Jenn Stuczynski. Stuczynski is notably the first American woman to clear 16-00.00 and only the third in the world to clear that height. She is currently the outdoor pole vault American record holder. She has been ranked as high as sixth in the world in pole vaulting and in 2007 she was ranked as the No. 1 American pole vaulter according to Track & Field News.
The University of Dayton Division of Athletics maintained its position as one of the top academic achievers in the NCAA in the latest breakdown of the Graduation Success Rate. UD has an institutional GSR of 95 which ranks first among the Atlantic 10 Conference and is one of the best scores in the nation. Dayton joined the likes of Boston College, Georgetown University, Stanford University, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame and Duke University as the best at graduating their student athletes.
