June 23, 2017

Stepp caps junior year with CoSIDA Academic All-America honor

AUSTIN, Texas - Carson-Newman junior high jumper Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) closed out his third year at Mossy Creek with Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

AUSTIN, Texas - Carson-Newman junior high jumper Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) closed out his third year at Mossy Creek with Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Stepp becomes the third men's track athlete to garner Academic All-America recognition from CoSIDA. He joins Bryce Kirksey (2005) and Randall Freeman (2015) as the other men's track athletes to receive the recognition. Amy Cate is the lone women's track athlete to grab the accolade, doing so in 2005.

With Stepp's honor, the Carson-Newman athletic department has five academic All-Americans this academic year, the most in school history. Kooper Davis (Football), Jules Herrity (women's soccer), Paul Kirby (baseball) and Nancy Claire Smith (swimming/at-large team) are the other honorees this year. This bests the three individuals that were recognized during the 2004-05 and 2015-16 seasons.

Stepp finished second in the country in the high jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Bradenton, Fla. in late May.

The Jefferson City, Tenn.-native cleared his first three jumps on the day with ease landing all of them on his first attempt. Stepp hit the 2.13 mark on his third attempt and missed all three attempts at 2.16 meters. Stepp narrowly missed being the school's second individual national champion.

Stepp and Wingate's Isiah Kyle share the top mark in the region for the high jump with leaps of 2.13 meters at the SAC meet. The two passed the same bar at the conference championships, but it was Kyle who took home first-place honors due to the fact that he reached the height on his first try.

Stepp has now been placed on the All-Southeast Region team at the conclusion of every indoor and outdoor campaign of his career. However, this is the junior's first academic accolade. Two weeks following the league showdown, Stepp took home a third-place ribbon at the 123^rd running of the historic Penn Relays in the elite men's high jump event.

FIRST TEAM

Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major

Caleb Bartlett (2) Shippensburg Sr. Greencastle, Pa. 3.80 Criminal Justice

Dante Carter Colorado State-Pueblo Sr. Las Vegas, Nev. 3.90 Computer Information Systems

Alejandro Garcia (2) Chadron State Sr. Pine Bluffs, Wyo. 4.00 Health & Physical Education

Lucas Goodspeed (1, !) Harding Sr. Houston, Texas 4.00 Accounting

Austin Hogan Indianapolis Jr. Indianapolis, Ind. 3.62 Chemistry (Pre-Med)

Omar Johnson (3) Saint Augustine's Sr. St. Ann, Jamaica 3.40 Physical Education

Ryan Lutterloh (2) Oklahoma Christian Sr. Puyallup, Wash. 4.00 Mechanical Engineering

Rafal Matuszczak Saint Leo Sr. Wschowa, Poland 3.88 Computer Science: Info. Assurance

Chris May Grand Valley State Sr. Elmhurst, Ill. 3.94 Biomedical Sciences

Colin Pasque (1) Southern Nazarene Sr. Norman, Okla. 3.95 Biology / Chemistry

David Reinhardt Slippery Rock Gr. Bradford, Pa. 3.76,3.89 (G) Dr. Of Physical Therapy

Ben Schneiderman (3) Colorado School of Mines Jr. Colorado Springs, Colo. 3.99 Chemical Engineering

Mike Secreti (3) Felician Sr. Paramus, N.J. 3.99 Psychology

Derrick Williams (1) Colorado State-Pueblo Jr. Columbia Falls, Mont. 3.99 Biology & Exhpr (Exercise Sci.)

Alex Zubko (1, !) East Stroudsburg Gr. Dallas, Pa. 3.95,4.00 (G) Exercise Science

SECOND TEAM

Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major

Lars Benner Tampa Sr. Valrico, Fla. 4.00 Biochemistry

Chase Broughton Southern Indiana Sr. Marengo, Ind. 3.55,4.00 (G) Master's Of Sport Management

Jon Cok Ferris State Jr. Grand Rapids, Mich. 3.54 Product Design Engineering Tech.

Jonathan Dahlke Mount Olive Jr. Cologne, Germany 3.68 Psychology

Mark Hamalian Stonehill Jr. West Bridgewater, Mass. 3.95 Physics

Wyatt Hartman Cedarville Sr. Cortland, Ohio 3.89 Mechanical Engineering

Baylor Harvey Rogers State Jr. Cleveland, Okla. 3.92 Sport Management

Bryce Martin Texas A&M-Kingsville Sr. Salado, Texas 3.99 Civil Engineering

Donte Mcdaniel Fresno Pacific Sr. Selma, Calif. 3.82 Social Work

Jordan Morton Pittsburg State Sr. Colony, Kan. 3.94 Exercise Science

Corey Reid Azusa Pacific So. Carson City, Nev. 3.73 Computer Science

Shawn Rowe Saint Augustine's Sr. West Palm Beach, Fla. 3.32 Criminal Justice

Jacob Troutman Wingate Sr. Aberdeen, N.C. 3.97 Chemistry & Mathematics

Jacob Vanhouten (2) Slippery Rock Sr. Youngsville, Pa. 3.56 Exercise Science

Andrew Worley Oklahoma Baptist So. Blackwell, Okla. 3.88 Bible

THIRD TEAM

Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major

Erik Alatalo Bentley Sr. Wilmington, Mass. 3.84 Accountancy / Liberal Studies

Josh Barrows Augustana (S.D.) So. Helena, Mont. 3.96 English

Lawson Belcher Harding Sr. Keller, Texas 3.96 Graphic Design

Tim Bolick Bentley Sr. Hopkinton, Mass. 3.86 Corporate Finance & Accounting

Austin Cary Malone Sr. Loudonville, Ohio 3.82 Biology

Haregot Gebreyesus Benedict Sr. Bahir Dar, Ethiopia 3.94 Electrical Engineering

Derek Lahm Wayne State (Neb.) Jr. Columbus, Neb. 3.91 Chemistry / Health Science

Aaron Morgan California (Pa.) Sr. Arona, Pa. 3.66 Computer Engineering Technology

Daniel Neiswender Bloomsburg Jr. Lebanon, Pa. 4.00 Nursing

Jason Saliga Michigan Tech Sr. Romeo, Mich. 3.87 Chemical Engineering

Henning Schein Armstrong State Jr. Vellmar, Germany 3.95 Rehabilitation Sciences

Tanner Stepp Carson-Newman Jr. Jefferson City, Tenn. 3.74 Accounting

Zach Tuschen Augustana (S.D.) Sr. Sioux Falls, S.D. 4.00 Biology

Tim Usher Shippensburg Sr. Laurel, Md. 3.65 Criminal Justice

Scott Whitaker Malone Gr. Pittsburgh, Pa. 3.86,3.32 (G) MBA (G) / Communication Arts (UG)