The College of Wooster's Jake George and Eric Johnson were named College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District® for men's cross country and track and field, as announced by the organization on Tuesday.
George, a junior, was a conference scorer for the Fighting Scots in the 400-meter hurdles at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships. He placed eighth with a time of 57.59 in the preliminary heats, then moved up to seventh with a 57.84 in the final. George had a career day at the Denison University Invitational, logging collegiate-bests of 11.69 in the 100-meter hurdles and 57.54 in the 400-meter hurdles. During the indoor season, George logged collegiate-bests in the 200 (24.52) and 400 meters (54.75) at the Kenyon College Tune Up. George made four starts during cross country season, three of which were in championship-length races. His top championship-length time of 38:03.8 came at the Jenna Strong Fall Classic, hosted by Wilmington College.
The global media and digital studies major is an intern for marketing and communications on campus. There, George designs various promotional materials for the College and creates visually engaging designs for branding, events, and publications. George has worked at Mission BBQ back home during academic breaks.
Johnson, a recent alumnus, delivered a career-best time of 9:55.92 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAC Championships, which was the eighth-place time. During the indoor season, Johnson logged a collegiate-best time of 9:02.49 in the 3,000 meters. He placed 10th in the conference with a time of 15:56.60 in the 5,000 meters. In cross country, Johnson was one of Wooster's top harriers. He was 29th at the NCAC Championships with a time of 27:21.3. The 2023 all-conference harrier was part of Wooster's regional squad and navigated the championship-length Great Lakes Regional course in 26:39.3, which was 83rd in the field.
The physics alumnus tested three-dimensional gel dosimeters for his Independent Study. Johnson used the tests to determine the reliability of clinical linear accelerators. Johnson spent last summer as an associate researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. There, he developed biomimetic hydrogels to model radiation attenuation through tissue in radiation therapy that have MRI-sensitive changes. The aim of Johnson's research was to help standardize radiation therapy practices by understanding how radiation affects all tissue using three-dimensional dosimetry. In 2023, Johnson was a hydrogen technology research assistant at the University of Connecticut's Center for Clean Energy Engineering. He characterized semiconductors grown by atomic layer deposition through x-ray diffraction and ellipsometry. He focused on ellipsometry of gallium oxide to compare recipe type and annealing process for optimal groups. Johnson was previously a research assistant for physics and chemistry and Wooster. He regularly presented at academic and research conferences, was a physics tutor, a peer mentor, was a teaching assistant, and was the secretary of the astronomy club. This is Johnson's third time earning CSC Academic All-District® status.
Each school with a CSC membership may submit up to five Academic All-District® honorees for men's cross country and track and field. Each nominee must have at least a 3.50 GPA and be at least a sophomore in academic standing. Nominees must be ranked in the top-50 in an individual event for track and field within the region or have placed in the top-50 at the cross country regional meet.
