Two Teams, Five Individuals Earn USTFCCCA Academic Honors
7/22/2019 5:20:00 PM | Track and Field
Four individuals and both teams captured their first academic honor by the USTFCCCA this afternoon.
NEW ORLEANS – Both Air Force track and field teams, as well as five individuals, earned All-Academic distinction by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association this afternoon (July 22) for their work in the classroom during the recent indoor and outdoor seasons. This marks the first time that the men's and women's squads have earned academic honors from the USTFCCCA.
The Academy's list of individual representatives included senior Jaci Smith, who captured academic honors for the second-straight year after finishing with a cumulative GPA of 3.36 (astronautical engineering), and four first-time selections – junior Lindsey Blanks (3.89, operations research), senior Gordon Kowalkowski (3.32, aeronautical engineering), sophomore Mitch Lipe (3.61, aeronautical engineering) and senior Nathan Thomas (3.35, civil engineering).
The individual 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 among the top 48 of the East or West Region in the multi-events.
Air Force's men and women were two of the 366 NCAA Division I programs to earn academic honors by the USTFCCCA this afternoon (227 men's teams, 139 women's teams), after producing a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.00 or higher based on the association's formula. The women completed the 2019 season with a 3.07 GPA, while the men posted a mark of 3.00.
The Academy's list of individual representatives included senior Jaci Smith, who captured academic honors for the second-straight year after finishing with a cumulative GPA of 3.36 (astronautical engineering), and four first-time selections – junior Lindsey Blanks (3.89, operations research), senior Gordon Kowalkowski (3.32, aeronautical engineering), sophomore Mitch Lipe (3.61, aeronautical engineering) and senior Nathan Thomas (3.35, civil engineering).
The individual 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 among the top 48 of the East or West Region in the multi-events.
Air Force's men and women were two of the 366 NCAA Division I programs to earn academic honors by the USTFCCCA this afternoon (227 men's teams, 139 women's teams), after producing a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.00 or higher based on the association's formula. The women completed the 2019 season with a 3.07 GPA, while the men posted a mark of 3.00.
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