August 11, 2011
Tech women's track & field team honored by USTFCCCA
Hokies earn national team academic award for second straight year

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Virginia Tech women’s track & field team was one of 164 Division I institutions to be named as an All-Academic team by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Assocation (USTFCCCA). This is the second consecutive year that Tech has earned the national academic honor.

In order to qualify for All-Academic status, a team must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Tech’s squad came in with a cumulative GPA of 3.19. The Hokie women had the second highest team GPA among the seven ACC teams honored.

Last week, 16 Tech track & field student-athletes earned individual All-Academic accolades, including eight from both the men’s and women’s teams.

Women’s individual award recipients included: Aunye Boone (Jr., St. Leonard, Md.), Courtney Dobbs (Fr., Glen Allen, Va.), Sammy Dow (r-So., Midlothian, Va.), Frances Dowd (So., Fairfax, Va.), Lauren Lemieux (Jr., Huntsville, Ala.), Kelly Phillips (r-Sr., Blacksburg, Va.), Caitlin Thornley (r-Sr., Greensboro, N.C.) and Asia Washington (r-Sr., Piscataway, N.J.).

Men’s honorees included: Jason Cusack (Jr., Griswold, Conn.), Hasheem Halim (Jr., Lilburn, Ga.), Michael Hammond (Jr., Midlothian, Va.), Stephan Munz (So., Goppingen, Germany), Rene Stauss (So., Winterlingen, Germany), Matthias Treff (Jr., Burgthann, Germany) and Alexander Ziegler (Jr., Dischingen, Germany). Ziegler was also named the Men’s Outdoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year.

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 either of the following athletic standards: for the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org; for the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).

For updates on Virginia Tech track & field, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Track).

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