Valparaiso University’s Alyssa Bradford (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) has been named to the ESPN the Magazine women’s track and field/cross country Academic All-America Third Team, as voted on by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America).  Bradford is the fourth Crusader athlete to earn Academic All-American honors this academic year.

Bradford earns the Academic All-American honor, following her second consecutive First Team Academic All-District accolade, after a stellar final season across all three sports.  The senior finished among Valpo’s top-five runners five times during the cross country campaign and paced the Crusader contingent twice, including at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.  She earned three third-place finishes during the indoor track and field season in the 800m run, and also posted four top-tens outdoors in the same event.  Bradford ran a season-best time in the 800m run of 2:18.12 at the Horizon League Championships outdoors, fifth-best in Crusader history.

In the classroom, Bradford holds a perfect 4.00 GPA while working towards a master’s degree in secondary education after posting a 3.975 GPA as an undergrad.  A four-time Academic All-League honoree, she shared Valpo’s Laurel Award, honoring the senior student athlete with the highest cumulative GPA.  Bradford has earned Presidential academic honors and been placed on the Dean’s List during her time at Valpo, while also earning a spot on the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll.

Bradford joins Jackie Kondratko (women’s soccer, First Team), Adam Rundh (football, First Team) and Angie Porché (volleyball, Third Team) as Crusaders honored on Academic All-American teams during the 2009-2010 academic year.