AUSTIN, Texas - Carson-Newman junior high jumper Tanner Stepp (Jefferson City, Tenn.) closed out his third year at Mossy Creek with Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). 

Stepp becomes the third men's track athlete to garner Academic All-America recognition from CoSIDA.  He joins Bryce Kirksey (2005) and Randall Freeman (2015) as the other men's track athletes to receive the recognition.  Amy Cate is the lone women's track athlete to grab the accolade, doing so in 2005. 

With Stepp's honor, the Carson-Newman athletic department has five academic All-Americans this academic year, the most in school history.  Kooper Davis (Football), Jules Herrity (women's soccer), Paul Kirby (baseball) and Nancy Claire Smith (swimming/at-large team) are the other honorees this year.  This bests the three individuals that were recognized during the 2004-05 and 2015-16 seasons. 

Stepp finished second in the country in the high jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Bradenton, Fla. in late May.  

The Jefferson City, Tenn.-native cleared his first three jumps on the day with ease landing all of them on his first attempt. Stepp hit the 2.13 mark on his third attempt and missed all three attempts at 2.16 meters. Stepp narrowly missed being the school's second individual national champion.

Stepp and Wingate's Isiah Kyle share the top mark in the region for the high jump with leaps of 2.13 meters at the SAC meet. The two passed the same bar at the conference championships, but it was Kyle who took home first-place honors due to the fact that he reached the height on his first try.    

Stepp has now been placed on the All-Southeast Region team at the conclusion of every indoor and outdoor campaign of his career.  However, this is the junior's first academic accolade. Two weeks following the league showdown, Stepp took home a third-place ribbon at the 123^rd running of the historic Penn Relays in the elite men's high jump event.

FIRST TEAM

Name                                              School                                            Yr.     Hometown                       GPA                Major

Caleb Bartlett (2)                            Shippensburg                                Sr.     Greencastle, Pa.              3.80                 Criminal Justice

Dante Carter                                   Colorado State-Pueblo                 Sr.     Las Vegas, Nev.               3.90                 Computer Information Systems

Alejandro Garcia (2)                     Chadron State                               Sr.     Pine Bluffs, Wyo.             4.00                 Health & Physical Education

Lucas Goodspeed (1, !)                Harding                                          Sr.     Houston, Texas               4.00                 Accounting

Austin Hogan                                 Indianapolis                                  Jr.      Indianapolis, Ind.            3.62                 Chemistry (Pre-Med)

Omar Johnson (3)                        Saint Augustine's                           Sr.     St. Ann, Jamaica              3.40                 Physical Education

Ryan Lutterloh (2)                         Oklahoma Christian                      Sr.     Puyallup, Wash.              4.00                 Mechanical Engineering

Rafal Matuszczak                           Saint Leo                                        Sr.     Wschowa, Poland           3.88                 Computer Science: Info. Assurance

Chris May                                       Grand Valley State                        Sr.     Elmhurst, Ill.                     3.94                 Biomedical Sciences

Colin Pasque (1)                           Southern Nazarene                       Sr.     Norman, Okla.                 3.95                 Biology / Chemistry

David Reinhardt                            Slippery Rock                                Gr.     Bradford, Pa.                    3.76,3.89 (G)  Dr. Of Physical Therapy

Ben Schneiderman (3)                  Colorado School of Mines           Jr.      Colorado Springs, Colo.                        3.99       Chemical Engineering

Mike Secreti (3)                              Felician                                          Sr.     Paramus, N.J.                   3.99                 Psychology

Derrick Williams (1)                      Colorado State-Pueblo                 Jr.      Columbia Falls, Mont.     3.99                 Biology & Exhpr (Exercise Sci.)

Alex Zubko (1, !)                            East Stroudsburg                           Gr.     Dallas, Pa.                        3.95,4.00 (G)  Exercise Science

SECOND TEAM

Name                                              School                                            Yr.     Hometown                       GPA                Major

Lars Benner                                   Tampa                                            Sr.     Valrico, Fla.                      4.00                 Biochemistry

Chase Broughton                          Southern Indiana                          Sr.     Marengo, Ind.                  3.55,4.00 (G)  Master's Of Sport Management

Jon Cok                                         Ferris State                                     Jr.      Grand Rapids, Mich.      3.54                 Product Design Engineering Tech.

Jonathan Dahlke                           Mount Olive                                   Jr.      Cologne, Germany         3.68                 Psychology

Mark Hamalian                               Stonehill                                         Jr.      West Bridgewater, Mass.                        3.95       Physics

Wyatt Hartman                               Cedarville                                       Sr.     Cortland, Ohio                3.89                 Mechanical Engineering

Baylor Harvey                                Rogers State                                  Jr.      Cleveland, Okla.              3.92                 Sport Management

Bryce Martin                                   Texas A&M-Kingsville                   Sr.     Salado, Texas                  3.99                 Civil Engineering

Donte Mcdaniel                             Fresno Pacific                               Sr.     Selma, Calif.                     3.82                 Social Work

Jordan Morton                              Pittsburg State                                Sr.     Colony, Kan.                    3.94                 Exercise Science

Corey Reid                                     Azusa Pacific                                  So.    Carson City, Nev.            3.73                 Computer Science

Shawn Rowe                                  Saint Augustine's                           Sr.     West Palm Beach, Fla.    3.32                 Criminal Justice

Jacob Troutman                            Wingate                                          Sr.     Aberdeen, N.C.                3.97                 Chemistry & Mathematics

Jacob Vanhouten (2)                    Slippery Rock                                Sr.     Youngsville, Pa.              3.56                 Exercise Science

Andrew Worley                              Oklahoma Baptist                          So.    Blackwell, Okla.               3.88                 Bible

THIRD TEAM

Name                                              School                                            Yr.     Hometown                       GPA                Major

Erik Alatalo                                     Bentley                                           Sr.     Wilmington, Mass.          3.84                 Accountancy / Liberal Studies

Josh Barrows                                Augustana (S.D.)                           So.    Helena, Mont.                  3.96                 English

Lawson Belcher                             Harding                                          Sr.     Keller, Texas                    3.96                 Graphic Design

Tim Bolick                                      Bentley                                           Sr.     Hopkinton, Mass.            3.86                 Corporate Finance & Accounting

Austin Cary                                    Malone                                           Sr.     Loudonville, Ohio           3.82                 Biology

Haregot Gebreyesus                     Benedict                                         Sr.     Bahir Dar, Ethiopia          3.94                 Electrical Engineering

Derek Lahm                                    Wayne State (Neb.)                       Jr.      Columbus, Neb.               3.91                 Chemistry / Health Science

Aaron Morgan                               California (Pa.)                              Sr.     Arona, Pa.                        3.66                 Computer Engineering Technology

Daniel Neiswender                        Bloomsburg                                   Jr.      Lebanon, Pa.                    4.00                 Nursing

Jason Saliga                                  Michigan Tech                              Sr.     Romeo, Mich.                  3.87                 Chemical Engineering

Henning Schein                            Armstrong State                             Jr.      Vellmar, Germany            3.95                 Rehabilitation Sciences

Tanner Stepp                                 Carson-Newman                           Jr.      Jefferson City, Tenn.      3.74                 Accounting

Zach Tuschen                               Augustana (S.D.)                           Sr.     Sioux Falls, S.D.              4.00                 Biology

Tim Usher                                      Shippensburg                                Sr.     Laurel, Md.                       3.65                 Criminal Justice

Scott Whitaker                               Malone                                           Gr.     Pittsburgh, Pa.                 3.86,3.32 (G)  MBA (G) / Communication Arts (UG)