[NPInfo] All American Swimmer and soon to be PA

[David Mittman]

Nice
Molly Crispell Named ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-American
Swimming standout named Academic All-American for second straight  
yearJune 12, 2008



University Park, Pa. - Molly Crispell of the women's swimming team  
was named an ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-American, it  
was announced today by the College Sports Information Directors of  
America (CoSIDA). Crispell, who was a second team Academic All- 
American last year, is an Academic All-American for the second  
straight year and becomes Penn State's 135th Academic All-American in  
school history and the sixth honoree this year. She joins Gerald  
Cadogan (football) as Penn State's two first team Academic All- 
Americans for the 2007-08 academic year.
Crispell was part of the women's at-large Academic All-American  
teams, which encompass the women's sports bowling, crew, fencing,  
field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing,  
swimming and diving, tennis and water polo. This marks the fifth  
straight year that a member of the women's swimming team at Penn  
State has been a CoSIDA women's at-large Academic All-American. In  
addition to Crispell's honor last year, former Nittany Lion swimmers  
Sarah Haupt (2006), Dee Dlugonski (2005) and Sally Anderson (2004)  
were also honored on CoSIDA's women's at-large Academic All-American  
teams. Crispell was also a two-time first team CoSIDA Academic All- 
District pick, both this year and last year.
Crispell was the female recipient of this year's Ernest B. McCoy  
Memorial Award, which is presented annually to one senior male and  
female student-athlete who have combined successful athletic  
participation with academic excellence. She was the 15th McCoy Award  
winner from the swimming and diving program since the award began in  
1971. Also the recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, Crispell was  
earlier this year awarded the 2008 Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award by  
the Big Ten Conference and presented by the Indianapolis Big Ten  
Community Partnership.




A two-time team captain, Crispell graduated from Penn State and the  
Schreyer Honors College last month with a degree in biobehavioral  
health and a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Eyeing a career as a  
physician's assistant, Crispell has since enrolled in graduate school  
at Arcadia University in suburban Philadelphia to pursue her  
physician's assistant degree. Also a recipient of the prestigious  
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, the Boalsburg, Pa. native was a four- 
time CSCAA All-Academic selection and a three-time academic All-Big  
Ten selection.
In pool, Crispell was a four-time scorer at Big Ten Championships and  
a two-time qualifier for NCAA Championships. She was a two-time  
honorable mention All-American as part of the 800 freestyle relay  
team and ended her career ranked sixth all-time at Penn State in the  
200 freestyle. This past season, the 800 free relay team, which she  
was a part of, ranked in the top 16 in the country.