Eight Falcons Named to USTFCCCA All-Academic Team
7/27/2018 2:07:00 PM | Track and Field
The Academy’s list of representatives featured four repeat selections, including Tyler Koss and Shelley Spires, who captured the USTFCCCA distinction for the third time in their careers.
NEW ORLEANS – A program-best eight members of the Air Force track and field team were named to the 2018 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Division I All-Academic Team on Thursday, July 26. The eight honorees match the Academy record that the 2017 squad initially set.
The Academy's list of representatives included four repeat selections, including 2018 graduates Tyler Koss and Shelley Spires, who captured the USTFCCCA distinction for the third time in their careers. Fellow 2018 graduates Calvin Berstler and Chip White were named All-Academic for the second time in as many years, while classmate Luke Piper and 2017 juniors Mickey Davey, Noah Riley and Jaci Smith captured their first academic honor from the USTFCCCA.
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 or be ranked a
Koss completed his senior season with a 3.49 GPA in business management and appearances in the 400-meter dash and 4x400-meter relay at the NCAA West Preliminary, while Spires, who graduated with a 3.47 GPA in behavioral science and captured a pair of first-team All-America honors as a senior, met the qualifying criteria during both the indoor (ranked seventh in the NCAA) and outdoor (NCAA participant at the preliminary and championship round) seasons. Berstler held a 3.60 GPA in biochemistry and a No. 22 regional ranking in the decathlon, while White maintained a 3.37 GPA in management and was a NCAA West Prelim participant in the in 400-meter hurdles and 4x400-meter relay.
Davey and Smith, who were both named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team in cross country, met the track and field criteria during the indoor and outdoor seasons. With a 3.60 GPA in electrical engineering, Davey was ranked 41st in the indoor 5000-meter run and qualified to the NCAA West Prelim at the 10,000-meter distance, while Smith, who finished her junior year with a 3.34 GPA in astronautical engineering, was ranked 28th in the indoor 5000-meter run and competed in the preliminary and championship rounds of the 10,000-meter run, en route to first-team All-America status. Piper (3.35 GPA in management) qualified to the All-Academic Team after making his first appearance in the Preliminary round of the NCAA javelin and Riley (3.70 GPA in political science) finished the indoor season ranked No. 88 in the mile.
mong the top 48 of the East or West Region in the multi-events.
