The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference

WPI's Kevin Jillson and Jarrett Arredondo Earn ESPN The Magazine/Co-SIDA Academic All-America Track/Cross Country Honors

Worcester, MA --- WPI's Kevin Jillson (East Sandwich, MA) and Jarrett Arredondo (Somerville, MA) have been named ESPN The Magazine/Co-SIDA Academic All-Americans for Men's Track and Field and Cross Country. Jillson took home second team accolades, while Arredondo garnered third team honors.

The pair earned the awards in the College Division, which features NCAA Division II and III, NAIA and junior college student-athletes. They were under consideration for All-America status after both were selected to the District I first team earlier this month. WPI and Division II Adams State (CO) were the only College Division institutions to have multiple student-athletes named to the teams.

Jillson enjoyed success this past fall on the cross country course. The senior was WPI's lone All-NEMAC selection as he finished 12th at the conference championship meet. Jillson, who finished second at the Worcester City Meet, narrowly missed a trip to the NCAA Championships when he finished 37th at the regional meet at Southern Maine. He continued his strong senior campaign continued during the outdoor track season when he placed fifth in the 3000 meter steeplechase and eighth in the 5000 meters.

Jillson graduated last month with an impressive 3.98 grade point average while majoring in Biochemistry. He is a member of the WPI's Pre-Med Society while volunteering for both a Big Brothers/Big Sister and in the emergency room at UMass Medical. Jillson, a six-time NEWMAC All-Academic team member, was a Charles O'Toole Scholar and Pfizer Fellowship recipient. He earned several academic awards and honors including the Herb Beall General Chemistry Award. Jillson's IQP project focused on DNA fingerprinting research.

It is the second straight year Jillson has been honored as the senior was selected to the third team last fall.

Arredondo become WPI's first track and field All-American since 2001 when he finished seventh in the hammer throw at the NCAA Division III Championships last month at Marietta, OH. The junior, who won the NEWMAC title in the hammer and the shot put, registered a toss of 179-11 in his second appearance in a NCAA Championship event. Arredondo enjoyed tremendous success regionally with a second place finishes at the New England Championships in both the weight throw and the shot during the indoor season and a second and third place in the hammer and the shot respectively during the outdoor campaign.

Arredondo boasts a strong 3.81 GPA while pursuing a degree in chemical engineering. He was honored at the WPI Athletics Award Banquet with the Poly Club Award, which is presented to the top male athlete in the junior class who has an outstanding academic record along with campus involvement of a non-athletic nature. Arredondo is a two-time NEWMAC All-Academic team selection, whose IQP Project worked on the restoration of Thoreau Society Records.

The duo joins Ben Gilde and Jen Richards and Kelly Johnson as WPI's Academic All-Americans this academic year. Gilde earned first team men's soccer honors in the fall, while Richards and Johnson garnered second team accolades this spring in softball and the at-large (field hockey) category respectively.

The five Academic All-Americans are the most in a single academic year for WPI. Jarrod Alston (men's soccer), Mike Pockoski (men's track and field) and Susan Shorrock (women's cross country) teamed up for the for old record of three during the 1998-99 academic year.

WPI student-athletes have been now been tabbed Academic All-American 30 times. Arredondo is the 22nd different WPI student-athlete to earn the honor, while Jillson is just the sixth Engineer to be selected multiple times.