General | May 08, 2019
CLEVELAND – Western Michigan's track and field's Sarah Anderson, Erin Dowd, and Erica Sheahan, along with men's basketball's Seth Dugan, have been named Mid-American Conference Distinguished Scholar Athletesfor the winter season, as announced by the MAC office on Wednesday morning.
The Distinguished Scholar Athlete is an award in its fifth year given to students who have excelled in athletics and academics. Following each season from the winter sports schedule, any student with a 3.20 GPA and participation in at least 50 percent of the contests was automatically named to the previously announced Academic All-MAC Team from each sport. Also, first-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence were not eligible for the award.
From the Academic All-MAC Teams, the faculty athletic representatives selected the 'best of the best' of our Academic All-MAC Teams to be honored with Distinguished Scholar Athlete Award for the 2018-19 season. A Distinguished Scholar Athlete must have a 3.50 GPA or higher and the number of Distinguished Scholar Athletes from each sport were equivalent to the number of first-team selections or 20% of nominees, whichever was greater.
Track and field's trio are all repeat honorees, including Anderson earning it for the third time in track and field. Anders holds a 3.50 GPA in exercise science and won a MAC title in the 800-meter run at the indoor MAC Championship. Dowd holds a 3.65 GPA in chemical engineer and, along with Anderson, helped WMU's 4x400-meter relay team to a MAC title at the indoor MAC Championship. Sheahan, who has a 3.98 GPA in accounting, was a scorer at the MAC Championship in the long jump.
Dugan adds to his list of academic accolades this season. The senior center was named a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American after leading the Broncos with 16.6 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per game on the season. The Otsego, Mich., native boasts a 3.97 GPA in finance. This is Dugan's third time earning MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors in his career.
