Senior Tessa Pitcovich named 2nd Team Academic All-America by College Sports Information Directors of America

By Wes Mayberry

| 2021-2022 CoSIDA Academic All-America Track and Field and Cross Country Teams (.pdf) |

ADA — Ohio Northern senior Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) was named to the NCAA Division III Academic All-America Second Team in women's track and field and cross country by the College Sports Information Directors of America for the 2021-22 season.

The Academic All-America Team, selected by CoSIDA, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in athletic competition and in the classroom.

Pitcovich, an accounting major who competes on the track and field and cross country teams at ONU, boasts a perfect 4.0 GPA and was selected by CoSIDA to the Academic All-District 7 First Team in May.

She is a three-time Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection in track and field and cross country and was named the OAC Scholar-Athlete of the Month for June.

Pitcovich has earned All-OAC status in track and field five times in her career, including four times this season. She placed second in the 5,000 meters and third in the 3,000 meters at the 2022 OAC Indoor Championships and had finishes of second and third in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters, respectively, at the 2022 OAC Outdoor Championships. She capped this season by qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000 meters and placed 17th.

Pitcovich also ranks in the top four in school history with her best times in five events, including the outdoor 5,000 meters (2nd, 17:37.72), 10,000 meters (2nd, 36:08.18) and 3,000 meters (4th, 10:40.10) and indoor 3,000 meters (3rd, 10:14.14) and 5,000 meters (3rd, 17:36.37).

In cross country, Pitcovich is a three-time All-OAC and two-time All-Great Lakes Region honoree, and she qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2019 and 2021. She currently holds the fourth-fastest time (22:08) in program history for a 6,000-meter course and was named the All-Ohio Female Runner of the Year for Division III in 2021. She capped her senior season as the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 championships.