Schaffer, Layng & Zack Earn Capital One Academic All-District Honors

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Seniors Abby Schaffer (Easton, Pa./Easton HS), Timothy Layng (Canton, Pa./Canton HS) and Gary Zack (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood HS) of the Moravian College track & field teams have been named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-District IV NCAA Division III Women's & Men's Track & Field/Cross Country First Teams selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

By making the All-District First Team, Schaffer, Layng and Zack are now forwarded onto the national ballot to try for Capital One Academic All-America® accolades, which will be announced on Tuesday, June 19th.  Moravian has had 38 Capital One Academic All-Americans® including 33 in the last 18 years and three already in 2011-12.

To be eligible for Capital One Academic All-America® accolades, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.30 grade-point average, be a sophomore, junior or senior and be a starter or significant reserve. Beginning in 2011-12, the program is made up of four levels – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and College Division (NAIA, Canadian colleges and junior colleges).  District IV in NCAA Division III is made up of schools from Pennsylvania.

Schaffer, who was the 2011 USTFCCCA Division III Indoor National Field Athlete of the Year and the 2011 and 2012 Mideast Region Indoor and Outdoor Female Field Athlete of the Year, finished as the runner-up at the 2012 NCAA Division III Outdoor national meet at a height of 4.15 meters (13 feet, 7 ½ inches).  She entered the meet with NCAA Division III all-time record of 13-10 (4.22 meters) in the Greyhound Invitational on April 21st.  Schaffer won four Landmark Conference titles and two ECAC titles in the pole vault in her two years at Moravian, and she has vaulted over four meters in seven meets, five of them outdoors during the 2012 season.  Schaffer captured the 2011 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships with NCAA meet records each time.  She graduated on May 12 with a degree in marketing.

Layng was named the NCAA Division III Elite 89 Award winner at the 2012 NCAA Division III Outdoor national championships last week, and he was on the Capital One Academic All-America® College Division Third Team a year ago.  Layng earned All-America for the second time this season after placing fourth in the pole vault at the NCAA outdoor meet, tying his school record height of 5.00 meters (16 feet, 4 ¾ inches).  Layng was also seventh in the pole vault at the 2012 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships to earn All-America accolades for the first time in his career, and he captured his sixth Landmark Conference title in the pole vault during the outdoor championships.  Layng graduated with a degree in biology earlier this month.

Zack, who was the 2012 Mideast Region Male Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, was the runner-up in the javelin at the NCAA Championships with a toss of 67.14 meters (220 feet, three inches).  Zack, the 2011 NCAA Division III National Champion in the javelin, had the top throw in the country this season with a school record toss of 69.05 meters (226 feet, six inches).  The distance is the eighth best throw in NCAA Division III history and just three feet shy of the 2012 Olympic provisional qualifying standard which is 70 meters.  Zack has surpassed 60 meters in ninth of ten meets this season with the only meet under 60 meters coming on his only attempt at the 2012 Landmark Conference Championships to finish as the runner-up just 27 hours after throwing in the Penn Relays College Championship flight.  On the throw, Zack took just a seven-step run up and still threw 59.74 meters (196 feet).  Zack completed his degree in nursing this month.

The trio helped both of the Moravian's track & field teams capture the 2012 Landmark Conference Indoor and Outdoor Championships.