June 25, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. ââ’¬” After a banner year on the track, South Carolina senior Jeannelle Scheper earned a spot on the Capital One Academic All-American Division I second team Thursday afternoon. The team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.

With the honor, Scheper becomes the fourth Gamecock in program history to make the team twice, following up her honor for the 2014 season. She joins Jenny Lake (2004-05), Elliott Haynie (2009-10) and Marvin Reitze (2011-12) as two-time honorees, and marks the 15th time that a Carolina track athlete made the list. The team has put at least one student-athlete on a Academic All-America team in 10 of the last 12 years, and every year since 2009.

Scheper won the NCAA outdoor title in the high jump this season, becoming the first jumper in program history ââ’¬” man or woman ââ’¬” to win an individual title. It was the women’s first individual outdoor title since 2007, and she is now the 21st female athlete in the program’s history to earn a championship.

It was a fitting end to a Spring season that saw her lead the nation from start to finish, and post a program-record height of six feet, five inches that currently ranks sixth in the world. Along with her national title, she won the SEC in the high jump and was named the conference’s scholar-athlete of the year and the USTFCCCA’s Southeast Region Field Athlete of the Year.

Now with degrees in mathematics and economics in hand, Scheper will focus on representing her country of St. Lucia internationally this summer and next year at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Between competitions, she plans to continue her studies in the masters program for economics at South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business.