Mallory an All-American on, off the track
10/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
By Scott Latta
UA Media Relations
This is the first of a six-part series of profiles on the University of Alabama's 2006 ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. At the University of Alabama, the tradition of success extends far beyond the field of play. Success in the classroom has long been a Crimson Tide staple and perhaps nothing better demonstrates that better than the fact that six Alabama student-athletes earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American honors last season, a mark that led the Southeastern Conference and ranked in top five among all Division I schools. Those six, Guido Arroyo, Ashley Bentley, Beth Mallory, Vlad Polyakov, Emeel Salem and Joseph Sykora will be honored before this weekend's Alabama-Ole Miss football game.
Alabama's Beth Mallory won the 2005 NCAA Discus Title, becoming the Crimson Tide's first individual champion in track and field since 1989. She was also named the 2005 Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year and was a four-year All-American, a multiple SEC Champion and the school record holder in the hammer and weight throws.
But with all her accomplishments on the track, it's something else that makes Alabama track Coach Sandy Fowler proud.
"I'm proud of both, but I'll put her academics before her athletics because in my philosophy it's all about your future, it's all about your life and the next steps you take after you're ready to leave college," she said. "I think that she's done a great job in regards to being an Academic All-American and she's taking that to another step now by going to graduate school."
Mallory, one of six Alabama athletes to be named Academic All-Americans in 2006, was honored for not only her staggering numbers on the track, but for her outstanding work in the classroom. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education and in 2005 won the Bryant Award, awarded annually to Alabama's top student-athlete.
"It's a great honor," Mallory said. "It's probably one of the biggest accomplishments an athlete can achieve, and it's awesome to be recognized, that it's not all about athletics here, and they recognize academics as well."
Mallory attributed her classroom success to "being organized, staying on top of the work and not procrastinating" and by "working on what needs to be done and always getting a good night's rest."
"(The team) saw her high standards that she had for herself, and they used to ask her a lot of questions on how do you keep that standard, how do you stay focused on that, and I think her answer to the team is, number one, her focus and being tough mentally and just wanting something down the road," Fowler said. "That was her biggest thing??she wanted it, and she did everything possible to go after it, and then some."
