Program-Record Six from Alabama Track & Field Earn CoSIDA Academic All-America
8/12/2021 11:14:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Mercy Chelangat, Tamara Clark, Vincent Kiprop, Daija Lampkin, Jake Spotswood and Samantha Zelden doubled the previous program record for Academic All-Americans in a season set last year
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After setting the Alabama track and field program record for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in a season with three last season, the Crimson Tide doubled that mark when the 2020-21 list was announced Thursday.
Mercy Chelangat, Tamara Clark, Daija Lampkin and Samantha Zelden were recognized on the women's side, while Vincent Kiprop and Jake Spotswood was selected for the men.
It was the third honor in a row for Lampkin and the second for Kiprop and Zelden. Kiprop and all four women were named to the first team while Spotswood earned second-team accolades.
The Crimson Tide led the nation in combined men's and women's first-team honors with five and first team honors for the women with four. The Tide also led the nation in women's honors with four and was one of only two schools with more than five combined men's and women's accolades.
This season marks the 12th-consecutive year that at least one member of the Alabama track & field/cross country program has earned a place on the CoSIDA Academic All-America squad. Overall, 18 members of the program have earned the honor 29 times.
Lampkin, the Crimson Tide's first three-time Academic All-American, carries a 4.0 GPA in public health and has accumulated five All-American honors.
After earning her undergraduate degree in human performance exercise science with a 4.0 GPA, Zelden, an All-American, graduated with a master's degree in kinesiology this spring with a 4.0 GPA.
Kiprop, the 2019 SEC Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, earned his undergraduate degree in public health with a 3.87 and a graduate degree in health education and promotion with a 3.93. An All-American in cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track and field, he won six Southeastern Conference titles during his career.
Chelangat, the 2020-21 NCAA Cross Country Champion, is pursuing a public health degree while maintaining a 3.67 GPA. The 2020-21 USTFCCCA Cross Country Athlete and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Chelangat also won a pair of individual SEC titles and two All-America honors during the outdoor season.
Clark, the 2021 SEC Outdoor Runner of the Year, carries a 3.57 GPA while studying public health. She finished fourth in the 200 meters at the 2021 USA Olympic Trials with the second-fastest time ever by a collegian. The All-American earned a trio of top-three finishes this past season and won both the 100 and 200-meter races at the 2021 SEC Outdoor Championships.
Spotswood, the Alabama record holder in the heptathlon, graduated with a 3.88 in marketing. The All-American helped the Tide to a seventh-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships by scoring in the heptathlon.
The track and field team's six Academic All-Americans bumped the Crimson Tide's 2020-21 all-sport total to a school-record 18.
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Players Mentioned
