Hope College has the distinction of being one of
only two colleges among all NCAA Division III institutions to
have both its men's and women's track team honored for
outstanding academic performance by the United States Track
Coaches Association.
Out of more than 225 Division III institutions that sponsor
men's and women's track and field, only Hope and Emory University
of Atlanta, Ga. achieved this distinction for the 1997-98
academic year.
The Hope women's team, coached by Donna Eaton, maintained a
cumulative 3.254 cumulative grade point average while the men's
team, coached by Mark Northuis, had a cumulative GPA of 3.113.
No other college from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic
Association (MIAA) were among the 14 teams (4 for men and 10 for
women) to be honored nationally.
Honored for individual academic accomplishment were Ellen
Schultz of Maple City (Glen Lake HS) and Emily Sowers of Grand
Rapids (GR Christian HS). Schultz is a senior this fall while
Sowers is a sophomore.
Schultz has been a standout in cross country and track,
earning conference honors and competing on a national level.
Last spring she was voted a GTE Academic All-American. Sowers
was the MIAA champion in the discus as a freshman and qualified
for the NCAA championships with the seventh best throw in the
nation.
The 1997-98 school year was a banner year for Hope student-
athletes on both the field of competition and in the classroom.
Hope won the MIAA All-Sports award a league record 21st time.
Teams and individual athletes competed in a record 11 NCAA
championship events. Seven teams (men's and women's cross
country, men's and women's swimming, men's tennis and men's and
women's track) were honored nationally for academic performance.

Hope College has the distinction of being one of
only two colleges among all NCAA Division III institutions to
have both its men's and women's track team honored for
outstanding academic performance by the United States Track
Coaches Association.
Out of more than 225 Division III institutions that sponsor
men's and women's track and field, only Hope and Emory University
of Atlanta, Ga. achieved this distinction for the 1997-98
academic year.
The Hope women's team, coached by Donna Eaton, maintained a
cumulative 3.254 cumulative grade point average while the men's
team, coached by Mark Northuis, had a cumulative GPA of 3.113.
No other college from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic
Association (MIAA) were among the 14 teams (4 for men and 10 for
women) to be honored nationally.
Honored for individual academic accomplishment were Ellen
Schultz of Maple City (Glen Lake HS) and Emily Sowers of Grand
Rapids (GR Christian HS). Schultz is a senior this fall while
Sowers is a sophomore.
Schultz has been a standout in cross country and track,
earning conference honors and competing on a national level.
Last spring she was voted a GTE Academic All-American. Sowers
was the MIAA champion in the discus as a freshman and qualified
for the NCAA championships with the seventh best throw in the
nation.
The 1997-98 school year was a banner year for Hope student-
athletes on both the field of competition and in the classroom.
Hope won the MIAA All-Sports award a league record 21st time.
Teams and individual athletes competed in a record 11 NCAA
championship events. Seven teams (men's and women's cross
country, men's and women's swimming, men's tennis and men's and
women's track) were honored nationally for academic performance.