Five Husker Gymnasts Named Scholastic All-Americans

Five University of Nebraska gymnasts were recognized as Scholastic All-Americans by the College Gymnastics Association Thursday. Seniors Jim Koziol, Courtney Brown and Misty Oxford and juniors Derek Leiter and Laura Ohlendorf were honored for their achievements in the gym and in the classroom.

In order to earn Scholastic All-America honors, a gymnast must have at least a 3.50 grade-point average and attain a minimum NCAA scoring of 8.50 during the previous season.

In the team competition, the Nebraska men finished fourth nationally with a team GPA of 3.159, MIT took first with a team GPA of 3.553. Illinois (3.306), Ohio State (3.212), Nebraska and Iowa (3.151) rounded out the top five. The Husker women finished 20th nationally with a team GPA of 3.286. The Huskers’ 20th-place showing was the highest by a Big 12 team in 1998. Winona State (Minn.) finished first with a team GPA of 3.716, followed by Southern Utah (3.549), LSU (3.505), Southeast Missouri State (3.482) and Alaska-Anchorage (3.452).

Brown, a two-time Scholastic All-American, had a team-high 3.90 GPA last season. In 1998, she was a first-team All-Big 12 selection on floor exercise and had NU’s top average on the balance beam. Oxford, who joins Brown as a two-time Scholastic All-American selection, has a 3.71 GPA in family science, A three-time All-American, Oxford holds school records on vault (9.95), uneven bars (9.95) and floor exercise (9.95) and was the Big 12 champion on floor exercise last season. A first-team academic All-Big 12 selection last spring, Laura Ohlendorf carries a 3.58 GPA in exercise science. Last season, Ohlendorf was one of the Huskers’ top performers on uneven bars, while battling a hyperextended elbow for much of the season.

Koziol, who had a 3.89 grade-point average in biology during the 1997-98 school year, earned All-America honors on the still rings with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships last spring. The senior from Omaha was nationally ranked on rings and in the all-around in 1998 after missing the previous season because of shoulder surgery. Leiter, who carried a 3.66 GPA in biological sciences last year, also earned All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in the all-around at the 1998 NCAA Championships. Last season Leiter, who competed at the United States Championships in August, was ranked in the top 20 nationally in five different events, including second on vault and ninth on parallel bars.

1998 Nebraska Scholastic All-Americans

Student-Athlete	1997-98 GPA	Major
Jim Koziol	3.89	Biology
Derek Leiter	3.66	Biological sciences
Courtney Brown	3.90	Elementary education
Misty Oxford	3.71	Family science
Laura Ohlendorf	3.58	Exercise science