Track Ranks Fifth Nationally With Multiple USTFCCCA Academic Honors

July 16, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina track and field program was honored as one of the top scholastic programs in the country by the United State Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) this week as 19 student-athletes earned All-Academic Team individual honors and the men’s team was named the Outdoor Track & Field Scholar Team of the Year.

The Scholar Team of the Year honor is the first for the men’s team after Coach Curtis Frye’s program tied a program best with a sixth place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and maintained a cumulative 3.090 grade point average. The Gamecock men also placed second at the NCAA East Region Championships and fourth at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Carolina had the top men’s team GPA in the Southeastern Conference.

Eleven women and eight men earned individual USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors, ranking South Carolina fifth among all Division I universities.

South Carolina’s 19 selections also lead the Southeastern Conference as only seven teams earned individual honors. South Carolina was followed in the SEC by Arkansas (13), Tennessee (10), Florida and LSU (7), and Georgia and Ole Miss (6).

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either the NCAA Division I Indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard or the NCAA Division I Outdoor regional or national qualifying standard in their respective event.

Selections from the Gamecock men’s team were Jason Cook, Johnathan Hancock, Elliott Haynie, Booker Nunley, Scott Pierce, Marvin Reitze, Matt Shuler and Michael Zajac. Selections from the women’s team were Janica Austin, Danielle Barnes, Radiance Basden, Beatrice Biwott, Sallie Gurganus, Aimee Kodat, Allie Nicosia, Stacee Roberts, Nadonnia Rodriques, Vica Shobe and Liza Todd.