Targgart and Essayi Earn CSC Academic All-America Honors
COLUMBIA, S.C. (July 10, 2024) – A pair of South Carolina men’s track & field student-athletes have been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America squad. Dylan Targgart was named to the First Team, while Anass Essayi was placed on the Second Team. In addition, Targgart was honored as the Division I Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for the entirety of men’s track & field/cross country.
Targgart hails from Coldwater, Mich. And recently graduated as a finance major with a 3.97 cumulative grade-point average. He is currently pursuing his Master’s of Business Administration degree with South Carolina. Targgart earned bronze medalist honors at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor National Championships in the men’s shot put, along with a pair of First Team All-American honors. Targgart threw 20.23m (66-4.25) during the indoor championship, while tossing 19.95m (65-5.5) during the outdoor championship in Eugene, Ore.
Targgart was named to the All-SEC second team at the 2024 indoor and outdoor championships and was named the SEC’s Scholar Athlete of the Year in both indoor and outdoor in 2024. The veteran thrower has also been named to the Spring SEC Honor Roll three times.
Essayi, a recent graduate of South Carolina with a degree in retailing, earned his spot on the Second Team Academic All-America squad. The Morocco native was just recently named to the Morocco Olympic Team ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, putting a strong finishing touch on his illustrious Gamecock career. Essayi earned First Team All-American honors in the 1500m at the NCAA Outdoor Championship, finishing eighth with a time of 3:40.81. He also was named Second Team All-American during the indoor season, placing 10th in the indoor 3K at the National Championship.
Essayi is a four-time All-American and a five time All-SEC honoree. In addition to his success on the track, the Morocco native earned First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2023 and was named to this year’s Spring SEC Honor Roll.
