WALTHAM, MA -- University of Delaware senior cross country and track and field runner Kevin DuPrey has been selected to the ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America District 2 Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field All-Academic team.

DuPrey (pronounced “due-pray”) was one of 10 male student-athletes honored on the first team. To be eligible, student-athletes must carry a 3.2 or better grade point average, have at least sophomore standing, and be a key member of his or her team. All members of the first team advance to the national ballot with the Academic All-American team to be announced later this month. District 2 includes all NCAA Division I institutions in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.

He becomes the second University of Delaware athlete this week and fifth this academic year to earn District 2 All-Academic honors. Women’s cross country and track and field runner Allison Behrle was honored June 5 on the first team while football player Tom Parks and soccer players Matt Haney and Jennifer Krepps were honored during the fall.

DuPrey, a biology major from Strasburg, PA (Lampeter-Strasburg High School), has been bestowed numerous honors this spring based on his academic career and in May was honored with the Colonial Athletic Association’s John H. Randolph Award, which recognizes individuals, who through strength of character and human spirit, serve as an inspiration to all to maximize their potential and ability for success. DuPrey continued to compete in cross country and track and field despite contracting Lyme Disease in 2003 and battling it his entire career.

DuPrey was a four-year letterman in cross country and a two-year letterwinner in outdoor track and field for the Blue Hens. He was one of the Blue Hens’ top runners as a freshman, placing 18th overall at the CAA Cross Country Championship and setting a freshman record in the 10,000 meters in track and field. He competed in five of the seven cross country meets this past fall, placing fifth at the Delaware Invitational in October.

While the disease took a toll on DuPrey’s running abilities, he continued to excel as a student. He has achieved a 3.88 grade point average while majoring in biology at UD, and earned the track team’s Sharp Academic Award for academic accomplishments. He also was honored with the UD ECAC Medal of Merit Award this past spring as the Blue Hen senior male letterwinner with the highest grade point index.

A Dean’s List student, DuPrey has worked as a biology research assistant and in the Vertebrate Development Lab during the summers. He earned his degree from Delaware in May and will attend medical school this fall at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he hopes to study sports medicine or infectious disease to become a Lyme Disease specialist.

AGATE:

ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA District 2 Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field District 2 All-Academic 1st Team: Jonathan Rowe (Lafayette), Adam Grossman (UMBC), Robert Healy (Duquesne), Kevin DuPrey (Delaware), Trevor O’Grady (Rutgers), Frank Macreery (Princeton), Dan Frake (Bucknell), Ian Butcher (St. Francis, PA), Patrick Quinn (St. Francis, PA), Jeff Witmyer (Robert Morris).