Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska track and field team continued its academic success on Thursday as three Huskers earned spots on the Capital One Academic All-America Men’s and Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country Teams. Senior Bjorn Barrefors led NU with his fourth honor, becoming Nebraska’s only four-time academic All-American.
Barrefors was named a first-team honoree for the fourth straight year. On the women’s side, seniors Mara Griva and Morgan Wilken became first-time honorees as they were both selected to the second team.
The men’s team now has a total of 23 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, including 18 since 2002 when the track and field/cross country team was created. The women’s team has a total of 26. Nebraska’s nation-leading total of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans has grown to 307 selections across all sports.
Barrefors completed his career in 2013 as a multi-event athlete and two-time captain for the Huskers. A native of Stockholm, Sweden, he is a computer science major with a minor in mathematics/physics. The NCAA Elite 88 Academic Award winner at the 2010 indoor track and field championships, he was a member of two conference championship teams. Barrefors is a six-time All-American and a two-time conference champion. He was selected as the 2012-13 Nebraska Male Student Athlete of the Year and broke school records in both the heptathlon and decathlon during his career. He received the 2012-13 Big Ten Medal of Honor, was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and an academic All-Big Ten selection.
Griva earned her first academic All-America honor in 2013 after completing a stellar Husker campaign as one of Nebraska’s top jumpers. A two-time captain for NU and native of Ventspils, Latvia, she is a management/marketing major at Nebraska. She finished her senior season with a fourth-place showing in the long jump and a sixth-place finish in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Griva is a 10-time All-American and nine-time conference champion. She swept the horizontal jumps titles at both the indoor and outdoor Big Ten Championships in 2013. As a senior, she was named the 2013 Big Ten Indoor Female Field Athlete of the Championships, the 2013 Big Ten Outdoor Female Field Athlete of the Championships and the 2013 Big Ten Outdoor Female Field Athlete of the Year. She is a two-time academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Wilken, a discus thrower and captain, also capped her Husker career with academic All-America accolades. She is a native of Crofton, Neb., and is a mathematics and math education major. A two-time All-American, she represented the Huskers in the discus at the 2013 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. She finished fourth in the event at the 2012 Big Ten Championships and went on to record an eighth-place finish at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Wilken was named a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-District VII selection in 2011 and is a two-time academic All-Big Ten honoree.