Kotula Selected District 2 Academic All-American

Biology major honored for compiling 3.88 cumulative grade point average

Official Release

Moon Township, Pa. – Senior Rachael Kotula (East Berlin, Pa. / Bermudian Springs) of the Robert Morris University women's track & field team was honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Thursday, as she garnered a spot on the Capital One District 2 Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Team.

In earning the award, Kotula will be placed on the national ballot for Capital One Academic All-America consideration.

A biology major, Kotula owns a cumulative grade point average of 3.88 after finishing with a perfect 4.00 GPA during the 2014 spring semester.

Kotula was named the 2014 Most Outstanding Field Performer at the 2014 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which was hosted by Robert Morris at the RMU Island Sports Center on Neville Island in Pittsburgh, Pa. She scored 22 points, tied for second all-time in program history at the NEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, in helping the Colonials finish third as a team with 131.50 points.

At the 2014 NEC outdoor championships, Kotula finished second in both the javelin and the shot put while earning bronze in the discus, surpassing the qualifying marks for the IC4A/ECAC Championships in each event. She posted a toss of 45.09 meters (147'11") in the javelin, a distance of 13.70 meters (44'11.50") in the shot put and a mark of 43.09 meters (149'9") in the discus. Thanks to her performance in the javelin and the shot put, Kotula earned All-NEC Second Team honors in each event.

Throughout her four-year career at Robert Morris, Kotula was a five-time All-NEC Second Team selection, earning four honors in the javelin and one in the shot put. She is tied for sixth all-time in school history for career points scored at the NEC outdoor championships with 42, and she was also selected a 2013 NCAA Honorable Mention All-American after finishing 24th in the javelin at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Kotula is the second member of the RMU women's track & field squad to be named to the Capital One District 2 Academic All-America Team, joining former Colonial Nicole Soster, who garnered the honor in 1997.

Kotula will compete in her signature event, the javelin, in Jacksonville, Fla., at the 2014 NCAA East Regional Championships Thursday.

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