July 12, 2006
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina women’s track and field team received numerous academic honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Wednesday.
The women’s team was named the USTFCCCA’s All-Academic Team of the Year for the outdoor season. South Carolina had just above a 3.1 cumulative GPA after the spring semester and finished third at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June. It was the 11th-straight year the Gamecock women finished in the top 10 at the NCAA national outdoor meet.
Individually, Shalonda Solomon garnered the USTFCCCA’s Female Scholar Athlete of the Year award for the indoor season. Solomon won the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in March and did the same at the national outdoor meet.
The Gamecock women were one of 75 teams to receive a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, which is given to squads achieving at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Precious Akins, Natasha Hastings, Amberly Nesbitt, Vica Shobe and Solomon also earned individual accolades for having at least a 3.25 cumulative GPA and meeting the regional or national qualifying standards in their events. Nesbitt won the individual NCAA title in the 100-meter dash at the outdoor championship.
“This is the proudest honor we as a team could ever receive,” head coach Curtis Frye said. “Having Shalonda Solomon, the national champion in the 200, and Amberly Nesbitt, the national champion in the 100, make the Academic All-America Team, what a blessed man I am. This is a dream come true. My ultimate goal in coaching athletics is to have national champions who are at the top of their level academically as well. Being number one athletically and academically, this is why I coach. This is a higher honor as a coach than winning a national championship.
“Our student-athletes go on to make significant contributions to society,” Frye continued. “Athletics is the greatest teacher for the leaders of tomorrow. Amberly wants to be the best doctor, and Shalonda wants to be the best in nursing. Those are the kind of people you want to be doctors and nurses. Young people with positive surroundings do excellent things and get excellent results.”
South Carolina’s women’s track and field program received a multitude of other academic accolades during the spring. Twenty-one Gamecocks were listed among the SEC Academic Honor Roll, which includes those with a least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. The University’s President’s List included five student-athletes, and the Dean’s List had 11. President’s List honorees are those who achieve a 4.0 semester GPA, while the Dean’s List is comprised of students with a minimum 3.5 GPA for a semester.
SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD ACADEMIC HONORS IN 2006:
USTFCCCA Women’s Outdoor All-Academic Team of the Year (Minimum 3.0 Cumulative GPA)
South Carolina
USTFCCCA Indoor Female Scholar Athlete of the Year (Minimum 3.25 Cumulative GPA)
Shalonda Solomon
USTFCCCA All-Academic Team (3.25 Cumulative GPA)
Precious Akins
Natasha Hastings
Amberly Nesbitt
Vica Shobe
Shalonda Solomon
SEC Academic Honor Roll (3.0 Cumulative GPA)
Precious Akins
Monica Bozenski
Nicki Breves
Kelsey Bristol
Ashley Cruse
Marisa Garcia-Quintana
Chelsea Hammond
Natasha Hastings
Chelsea Kaczmarek
Monica King
Caitlin McGroerty
Emily McPhetridge
Christine Mudd
Amberly Nesbitt
Emily Pease
Anna Petrov
Callie Rabun
Julie Reale
Laura Regensburg
Megan Robers
Alyse Shayer
LaShay Shelton
Vica Shobe
Shalonda Solomon
Cheryl Terrio
Liza Todd
Jackie Vignos
Karen Wigal
Becky Woods
University President’s List (4.0 Semester GPA)
Lauren Jaynes
Anna Petrov
Callie Rabun
Laura Regensburg
Karen Wigal
University Dean’s List (3.5 Semester GPA)
Rebecca Chain
Ashley Cruse
Caitlin Graham
Chelsea Kaczmarek
Christine Mudd
Amberly Nesbitt
Megan Robers
Vica Shobe
Shalonda Solomon
Liza Todd
Jackie Vignos
