Oregon’s Galen Rupp, this year’s most-decorated distance runner in Division I, and Colorado’s Jenny Barringer are among seven track and field scholar athletes of the year announced this week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Rupp followed up an Olympics appearance by winning five Division I individual titles during 2008-09. Barringer returned from Beijing to win her third 3,000-meter steeplechase crown in four years. They were the men’s and women’s outdoor track scholar athletes of the year.

Rupp, a business administration major, also was named indoor scholar athlete of the year following a year during which he won the Division I men’s cross country championship, the indoor 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs, and the outdoor 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs.

Barringer twice set Division I championships records in the steeplechase, improving this year on her 2008 mark. The political science/economics major followed up last month by winning the event at the USA Track and Field National Championships.

The coaches also honored Arizona State’s Jason Lewis as men’s indoor field scholar athlete of the year and Kansas State’s Scott Sellers as men’s outdoor field scholar athlete of the year.

On the women’s side, the coaches named Tennessee’s Kim Bowman as indoor track scholar athlete of the year, Indiana State’s Kylie Hutson as indoor field scholar athlete of the year and Florida State’s Kim Williams as outdoor field scholar athlete of the year.

Lewis, a history major, won the weight throw at this year’s indoor championships and Sellars, a business major, swept this year’s Division I indoor and outdoor high jump events. Bowman, a business major, helped Tennessee to the indoor team title by anchoring its victorious distance medley relay and then winning the mile run. Hutson, an exercise science major, swept the indoor and outdoor pole vault titles while Williams, a business administration major, claimed the outdoor long and triple jumps.

The coaches also listed this year’s Division I All Academic Track and Field Team for men and  women, naming 531 women representing 146 institutions and 327 men from 107 institutions.

Nebraska led the way with the most student-athletes on the lists, placing 19 women and 16 men. Brigham Young placed 16 women and 12 men and Oregon placed 16 women and 11 men.

A student-athlete must compile a cumulative grade-point average of 3.25 and meet either the Division I indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard or outdoor regional or national qualifying standard in an event to qualify for the team.