July 29, 2010

California track & field added to its total of athletes receiving All-Academic status when three men were named to the coaches' association team Thursday. Including the eight women who were honored earlier in the week, the Golden Bears had 11 members earn the prestigious status.

The Cal men announced as part of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) squad were:

Kari Karlsson - 3.285 GPA, operations research and management science major
Patrick Kowalsky - 3.319 GPA, media studies and political science double major
Mark Matusak - 3.366 GPA, psychology and integrative biology double major

A record total of 357 student-athletes representing 118 institutions compose the USTFCCCA's All-Academic men's team. To qualify, student-athletes must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either the NCAA Division I Indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard or participated in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships (including preliminary rounds) in their respective event.

During the 2010 season, Karlsson ranked among Cal's top three runners in the 3000, 5000 and 10,000 meters, including PR times of 8:10.29 in the 3000 and 14:01.99 in the 5000 this past spring. Kowalsky paced the Bears in both the shot put (59-3.00) and discus (165-2) outdoors in 2010, in addition to capturing the MPSF indoor title in the shot.

Matusak capped off his Cal career with an outstanding senior season. He was third in the 1500 meters at the Pac-10 championships, set a school record in the event (3:39.59) at the NCAA West Preliminary Meet and placed eighth in the 1500 at the NCAA Championships. During his final indoor campaign, Matusak ran the Bears' fastest indoor mile ever (3:58.36), won the MPSF title in the 3000 (7:59.67) and led off Cal's distance medley relay that placed fourth at NCAA's.

The release listing the Golden Bear women to make the All-Academic team can be found here.