Hedengren, Bunker Named GTE Academic All-District
PROVO -- Junior John Hedengren, a distance runner for the BYU track team and Scott Bunker, a junior middle blocker of the BYU men's volleyball team were today named to the GTE Academic All-District VIII eight team. Hedengren, who was also an all-district selection during the cross country season, was one of 10 student-athletes from 15 different schools from the western United States named to the first team, while Bunker was one of 10 student-athletes selected for second-team honors.
The two teams are selected by voting among members of the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in the district. Each member of the first team will represent District VIII, which is comprised of schools in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai'i, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and British Coloumbia, on the GTE Academic All-America ballot.
Although no school had more than one first team member, Washington State had a first-teamer and two athletes on the second team, while BYU had a first- and second-team member. To b eligible for consideration for the team a student-athlete must carry a GPA of 3.2 or higher, must be in at least his second year of participation at the school and must be an important squad contributor.
Hedengren, a chemical engineering major with a 3.95 grade-point average, was the 1999 Mountain West Conference Cross Country Champion and was named the league's Athlete of the Year. The Richland, Wash., native carried his talents from the cross country course to the track this spring and is coming off a seventh-place performance in the 5,000-meters and a third-place finish in the 10,000-meters at the MWC Outdoor Track & Field Championships last weekend.
Bunker, a 6-5 middle blocker, has a double major in both zoology and management. Bunker, a member of the 1999 National Championship team, led the nation in blocking, averaging 2.05 blocks per game. Ranked sixth in the nation in hitting, the Escondido, Calif., native recorded 309 kills on 529 attempts. Bunker produced double figures in kills in 15 matches on the season, leading the Cougars to an 18-9 mark on the season.
