Anna Behm Earns Esteemed Academic All-America Award

2016 Jun 8

Anna Behm of Mertztown, PA (19539) has had a decorated senior year at Kutztown University. The field hockey star added one more trophy to her shelf on Wednesday - possibly the most admired of them all. Behm was named an Academic All-American and part of the At-Large Third Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Behm is the third field hockey player in school history to be named an Academic All-American. Laura Kline earned the honor in 2005 and 2006 and Kelley Healey followed with back-to-back awards in 2008 and 2009.

The at-large program for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo for both men and women; bowling, crew and field hockey for women; and volleyball and wrestling for men.

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) had eight selections as part of the 45 overall honorees. There were three PSAC field hockey players named Academic All-America including Behm, Millersville's Kayla Bixler and East Stroudsburg's Ally Roth.

Behm, a leisure and sports studies major, carried a 3.47 GPA while finishing her senior year with 22 goals, nine assists and 53 points. She graduated from KU last month.

Over the course of her career, Behm won a 2016 Chambliss Academic Achievement Silver Medal, was a four-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Academic Squad member, three-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete, three-time Dean's List honoree and a member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), including her departing role as president.

On the field, Behm had one of the most prolific seasons in KU history in 2015 and helped lead the squad to a 12-7 record and its first PSAC Championship berth since the 2009 season.

The Kutztown native was named to the All-America First Team for the second time in her career, was named the PSAC Athlete of the Year and became a three-time All-PSAC honoree. Behm led the PSAC with 53 points (second all-time) and scored 1.16 goals per game (second in Division II). Her single-season goal total of 22 is the second most all-time in program history.

Behm capped off her stellar four-year career with 56 goals and 129 points, both ranking third all-time in school history. She holds the school-record with 10 consecutive games with a goal and leaves her mark on the KU field hockey program as on one of the best scorers in team history.

She also took home the 2016 Lehigh Valley Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (LVAIAW) Most Outstanding Athlete award for field hockey, and this year's KU Female Senior Athlete of the Year.

Behm was placed on the Academic All-America ballot after receiving her first Academic All-District honor, KU field hockey's first since 2007.

For more information about the Academic All-District and Academic All-America Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com