May 31, 2012

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By Miquel Jacobs
Assistant Media Relations Director

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina track and field team placed two members on the Capital One Academic All-District IV First Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Thursday. Seniors Louis Day and Marvin Reitze both earned first team nods as the Gamecocks are the only SEC school with two first team men’s selections and are tied for fourth in NCAA Division I for the most first team selections to the award given for academic and athletic excellence.

To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must old at least a 3.3 grade point average and be a sophomore in academic and athletic standing. The bid is the second for Reitze and first for Day and marks the fourth consecutive year that South Carolina has had a first team selection.

Reitze, who earlier this month was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year after an outstanding athletic and academic career for the Gamecocks, posted a cumulative grade-point average of 3.912 in management and international business for the nation’s top-ranked international business program. A 2011 CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American, Reitze was also named the University of South Carolina Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year last month for his academic exploits. On the track, the Germany native is a three-time USTFCCCA All-American in the pole vault and four-time SEC medalist. During the 2012 indoor season, Reitze was the SEC Championship and NCAA Championship silver medalist, taking silver at nationals at a school-record jump of 18’0 ½ (5.50m). Reitze countered in his outdoor season by also setting the outdoor school record of 18’1 (5.51m) in his victory at the Penn Relays en route to being named the Outstanding Men’s Athlete of the Meet. He placed bronze at the SEC Outdoor Championships and will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships next week.

Day earns his first Capitol One Academic All-District nod after posting a cumulative grade-point average of 3.87 in exercise science. A three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection, Day was also named the 2011 NCAA Men’s National Student-Athlete Sportsmanship Award winner by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. He placed sixth in the shot put at the SEC Outdoor Championships and has already been accepted into medical school.

District 4 Winners
Eric Powers, Georgia Tech
Nathan Corder, Alabama
Gonzalo Barroihet, FSU
Lee Gilmer, Furman
Marvin Reitze, South Carolina
Louis Day, South Carolina
Joby Peake, Auburn
David Triassi, Florida
Michael Fout, FSU
Gilbert Kemboi, USC Upstate
Kyle Kling, Coastal Carolina
J.P. Hackney, Georgia