Nebraska Wesleyan University junior Johnny Rutford was named to the Third-Team of the 2012 CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Men’s Track/Cross Country Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Nebraska Wesleyan University now has produced 127 Academic All-Americans® to rank eighth among all schools at all levels in the number of Academic All-Americans®. This season NWU has had 17 Academic All-Americans®, which is the fourth among all schools during the 2011-12 school year.

Rutford, a junior from Lincoln, Nab., has a 3.96 GPA in accounting. He was a two-time All-GPAC performer at both the 2012 Indoor and Outdoor Championships in track & field. Rutford was the 10,000 meter champion at the outdoor championships, and placed seventh in the 5,000 meters. His two All-GPAC honors at the Indoor championships raised his career total to seven.

The Lincoln Southeast H.S., graduate also was a top performer for the Prairie Wolves cross country team. He placed 10th at the GPAC Championships leading NWU to the team title. Rutford also competed at the NCAA Division III Cross Country championships.

The Capital One Division III Academic All-America® men’s track/cross country teams are comprised of student-athletes from NCAA Division III Institutions.