Daniel is Selected First Team Academic All-District

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University heptathlete and jumper Bekah Daniel (Sr., Jr., elig., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) has been chosen First Team Capital One Academic All-District VIII on the 2013-14 NCAA Division III Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Daniel competed in a variety of track and field events this spring, especially since she was one of the top heptathletes in the Northwest Conference. She recorded Willamette's best mark of the season in the 100-meter hurdles, long jump, triple jump and heptathlon.

As a First Team Academic All-District selection, Daniel is eligible for the Capital One NCAA Division III Academic All-America Team, which will be released on Tuesday, June 24.

First Team Capital One Academic All-District

Bekah Daniel graduated from Willamette this spring with a major in Physics and a minor in Mathematics. She held a 3.94 cumulative grade point average through the fall 2013 semester. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.

Daniel qualified for the NCAA Championships this spring and placed 21st in the nation in the triple jump. She set a Willamette record and established her career-best in the triple jump with a distance of 38' 6.75" at the West Coast Invitational on May 15.

A bit earlier in the season, Daniel won her second consecutive Northwest Conference title in the triple jump at 37' 8". She also placed third in the NWC in the heptathlon with a personal record score of 4,411 points and was third in the long jump at 17' 5.25". Her score in the heptathlon was the second highest all-time at Willamette and ranked 23rd in NCAA Division III this year.

In 2013, Daniel scored points at the NWC Championships by winning the triple jump, placing third in the 100-meter hurdles, taking fourth in the long jump and taking fifth in the heptathlon. At the NWC Championships in 2012, she was fifth in the triple jump and placed sixth in the heptathlon.

Daniel was the Willamette Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2013-14 by maintaining the highest cumulative grade point average. She also received the Jean Williams Award as the Bearcats' top senior women's athlete based on athletics, academics and leadership.

She has been honored by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) with All-Academic honors each of the past two seasons in track and field and has met the criteria to be named again this season.

At Willamette, Daniel received the William H. Webber Scholarship and the Phil Hanni Scholarship. She was selected by Willamette for a Science Collaborative Research Program grant.

CoSIDA District VIII

CoSIDA District VIII includes colleges and universities in the western United States. Athletes nominated for the Capital One Academic All-District Team were starters or key reserves with cumulative GPAs of 3.3 or higher (4.0 scale). Each athlete was at her current college or university for at least one academic year.