AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen University track and field athletes Betty Jones (Camillus, N.Y.) and Erik Matthews (Galway, N.Y.) have been named to their respective Academic All-District Teams (Women's Track & Field/Cross Country | Men's Track & Field/Cross Country) selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Jones and Matthews are recognized for their achievements both in the classroom and in track and field.
To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must be a starter of important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (GPA), and they must have reached sophomore athletic eligibility with at least one full calendar year completed at his/her current institution. Those selected to the Academic All-District Team will advance to the Academic All-America selection process. The CoSIDA Academic All-America Team will be announced in mid-June.
Jones, a graduate student in Daemen's Athletic Training program, completed a fifth-year of eligibility which was granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She made the most out of it, setting new program records for the indoor weight throw (13.15 meters) and outdoor hammer throw (40.86 meters). Her hammer throw record was set at the East Coast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships where she placed first for the second consecutive year. It marked the best hammer throw effort by any ECC student-athlete and was a top-15 mark for all East Region throwers this season.
In the classroom, Jones holds a 3.77 GPA. She additionally set personal-best marks for the indoor shot put (9.59 meters) and outdoor discus (30.09 meters) this season.
Matthews is no stranger to academic honors. thanks to his 3.99 GPA, he has twice been named the ECC's Elite 19 Award recipient, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA competing in a conference championship event. Matthews was also the 2020-21 ECC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Matthews, who will exercise his COVID year of eligibility and return to the team next season, had a successful senior campaign in 2021-22 while competing in sprints, hurdles and jumps. He opened the season by setting a new program record for the indoor 60 meter hurdles (8.92 seconds) and now holds the seven fastest times in that event in program history. He owns the nine fastest times in program history for both the outdoor 110 meter and 400 meter hurdles, including new records set this season (16.09 in 110 meter hurdles; 56.08 in the 400 meter hurdles). He posted a trio of top-three finishes at the ECC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, including a gold medalist effort in the 400 meter hurdles for the second straight season.
Jones and Matthews become just the second and third track and field athletes from Daemen to be named to CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. They join alumna Brittany Denton who earned the accolade following the 2017-18 season.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
Follow the Daemen men's and women's track & field program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @DaemenXCTF.
