Hackenberg Earns Academic Honor

BLOOMSBURG—Bloomsburg University track standout Amber Hackenberg (Middleburg/Middleburg) capped off a brilliant freshman season by being selected to the NCAA Division II Track and Field Coaches Association All-Academic team.

To be eligible for the team, a student-athlete had to have earned a minimum GPA of 3.25 with at least 24 semester hours completed. The student-athlete also had to have been an NCAA Division II provisional qualifier.

Hackenberg, a freshman, has a 4.0 GPA as a business administration major. She also qualified for the NCAA championships at 5,000 meters and earned team MVP honors in both cross country and track this season.

In cross country, Hackenberg earned All-PSAC honors in the fall of 2004 after finishing 11th out of 111 runners at the PSAC championships and followed that up with a 10th place finish out of 172 runners at the NCAA East Regional championships to earn All-Region honors. During the regular season her highlights included a first in the Slippery Rock meet as well as at the Husky Invitational. Her finish at the Husky Invitational also earned her PSAC Runner of the Week honors. She also turned in a second place finish at Bucknell in her first-ever collegiate race and was the first Division II finisher (58th overall) at the Penn State National meet.

In track, Hackenberg qualified for both the 3000 and 5000 meter races at the PSAC Indoor Championships despite having never run indoors during high school. At the championships she was sixth at 3000-meters and third place at 5000-meters to earn All-PSAC honors. At the championships she was sixth at 3000-meters and third place at 5,000 meters to earn All-PSAC honors. In the outdoor season she also qualified for the PSAC championships at 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 meters.