June 26, 2007

Senior pole-vaulter Dan McKenzie was named today to the ESPN CoSIDA Academic All-American National second team. McKenzie graduated Magna Cum Laude this past May with a degree in Chemical Engineering and was named South Carolina’s 2007 Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.

“It’s a great honor. I am very thankful that I have been recognized for my work in the classroom. I worked very hard to earn a 3.94 GPA while majoring in Chemical Engineering. Being on the track team helped me so much as early on it forced me to get my priorities straight. It helped me with time management both as an athlete and in the classroom. It forced me to do well in both,” said McKenzie. “I am thankful for all the support from all the coaches who allowed me to put academics first so many times. I will always be proud to be a Gamecock!”

A McKissick Scholar, McKenzie was on the 2006 USTFCCA All-Academic Team, named to the President’s List four times (4.0 GPA) and the Dean’s List three times (3.5 GPA+). He was also named seven times to the Athletic Director’s Honor and was a CoSIDA All-District Academic All-American honorree twice. In the pole vault he was a 2006 and 2007 NCAA Regional Qualifier. In 2007 he was third at the SEC Outdoor meet and fifth indoors. He was third at the 2005 SEC Indoor Championship.

McKenzie, a native Salisbury, Md., has taken a job with the Shaw Group in Houston, Texas to work as a design engineer of chemical plants.

“Dan being named Academic All-American is one of the biggest accolades of the year for our track and field program,” said USC Head Coach Curtis Frye. “We have accomplished a great deal this year and I am so proud. Dan was a walk-on athlete who was an outstanding student. Dan went on to become a regional scorer and a national-level competitor. He proves you can be a serious student and a serious athlete and be successful at both. Dan sends a clear message that the possibilities in the classroom and on the track – if you are willing to make the commitment – are endless. He improved four feet in the pole vault in college which is outstanding and almost unheard of. We are thrilled he chose to be a Gamecock and know he will represent the Gamecocks well in the future in whatever he chooses to do.”