Track and Field Earns Coaches Association Academic Honors
7/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
July 23, 2015
NEW ORLEANS - The University of Alabama track and field team was once again highly prevalent in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's annual academic accolades. The Crimson Tide women were honored by the USTFCCCA as a 2015 All-Academic Team while 17 members of the men's and women's team earned the association's All-Academic accolade.
"The balance between academic and athletic excellence is extremely important to us and I feel like these latest honors really drive that point home," UA head coach Dan Waters said.
Alabama's women were the only team in 2015 to finish in the top-20 nationally both indoors and outdoors and post better than a 3.40 team grade point average. The Crimson Tide women posted a 3.48 GPA, while finishing 17th at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 20th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Quanesha Burks led the way for the Crimson Tide, winning the 2015 NCAA outdoor long jump championship while carrying a cumulative GPA of 3.6. The Hartselle, Ala., native was one of a dozen members of the Alabama women's team to earn the coaches' association All-Academic honor, including All-Americans Nia Barnes, Filippa Fotopoulou, Alex Gholston, Katelyn Greenleaf, Danielle McConnell and Sarah Thomas as well as Lacey Dent, Meropi Panagiotou, Anna Rawles, Haley Teel and Merilyn Uudmae.
On the men's side of the slate, 2014 NCAA discus champion Hayden Reed led the way, once again earning both All-America and All-Academic honors in 2015. He was joined on the All-Academic list by All-American Jacopo Lahbi as well as Matt Airola, Joe Williams and Jacob Zalesky.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met certain national athletic rankings.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaTrack on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
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