Seven Falcons Named to USTFCCCA All-Academic Team
7/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
July 28, 2016
NEW ORLEANS – Seven members of the Air Force track and field team were named to the 2016 U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Division I All-Academic Team on July 28. Grant Hamilton, a 2016 Academy graduate, highlighted the Falcons' list of award winners, as he claimed his third-straight academic award from the USTFCCCA.
Hamilton was one of three Falcons to earn academic honors from the USTFCCCA more than once in a career, as juniors Matt Dorsey and Taylor Smith were named to the All-Academic Team for the second time. Sophomores Robbie Anderson, Tyler Koss and Shelley Spires, as well as 2016 graduate Grant Caswell, all earned All-Academic honors for the first time.
The USTFCCCA All-Academic Team is determined by both academic and athletic achievement during the track and field season. To qualify, the student-athletes must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher and have met at least one of the following athletic standards: for the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 of an individual event or as a member of a relay that was ranked in the top 48 on the official NCAA POP list; for the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships.
Hamilton completed his senior season with a 3.58 GPA in American history, a #46 ranking in the indoor shot put (59'6¼") and NCAA Outdoor appearances in both the shot put and discus throw. Smith, who finished the indoor season ranked sixth in the high jump (7'2½"), en route to runner-up honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships, posted a 3.42 GPA as a double major in economics and management. Dorsey, who first earned USTFCCCA academic honors as a freshman and completed his junior year with a 3.35 GPA in biology, was ranked 40th in the mile during the indoor season (4:00.30) and advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1500-meter run.
Backed by a 3.35 GPA in management, Koss qualified to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 400-meter run, while running on the distance medley relay team that was ranked #20 during the indoor season (9:32.19). Caswell also ran on the 20th-ranked DMR and graduated with a 3.42 GPA in computer science (cyber warfare option), while Anderson ran on the 4x100-meter relay that advanced to the national semifinals of the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Spires rounded out the Falcons' list of USTFCCCA honorees with a 3.28 GPA in behavioral science, a #39 ranking in the indoor high jump (5'10½") and a NCAA Outdoor appearance in the same event.
The seven honorees are tied with the 2003 squad for the most in Academy history.
Players Mentioned
