NINE CIAA PERFORMERS RECEIVE USTFCCA DII WOMENS TRACK & FIELD ALL-ACADEMIC STATUS

NINE CIAA PERFORMERS RECEIVE USTFCCA DII WOMENS TRACK & FIELD ALL-ACADEMIC STATUS

Seven from JCSU and two from SAC chosen as All-Academic honorees

August 5, 2011

New Orleans, LA - The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the womens 2011 Division II All-Academic Track & Field team. A total 80 institutions and 311 student-athletes, including Johnson C. Smith University and seven Golden Bulls compose the group.

Grand Valley State led all squads with 20 team members named to the All-Academic list. Slippery Rock followed with 11 nods. In third place, Shippensburg, Ashland, Southern Connecticut, and Western State checked in with nine honorees.

Those JCSU student-athletes that earned All-Academic status are: graduate Shermaine Williams (St. Andrew, Jamaica), senior Rosemarie Carty (St. Andrew, Jamaica), senior Monique Kelly (St. Andrew, Jamaica), senior Sasha-Gay Cunningham (Clarendon, Jamaica), junior Xahnn-Georgia Reid (Clarendon, Jamaica), sophomore Naffene Briscoe (St. Catherine, Jamaica), and sophomore Danielle Williams (St. Andrew, Jamaica).

Shermaine Williams, Carty, Kelly, and Reid are all repeat selections; while Cunningham, Briscoe, and Danielle Williams are first time selections as rising sophomores. Shermaine Williams is one of 12 NCAA champions to be named to the All-Academic list this year.

Unique Connor and Sheena Johns of Saint Augustine's College were selected to the team.

Connor, a native of North Las Vegas, Nev., posted a 3.815 GPA and helped the 4x400 Lady Falcon relay team earn All-America status at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships. She is a rising junior. Johns, a native of Greenwood, Del., is a repeat selection from last year. She was part of the 4x100 and 4x400 Lady Falcon relay teams which claimed All-American honors at outdoor nationals in 2011. Johns also ran on the same 4x400 relay team with Connor which earned All-American status at indoor nationals. In May, Johns graduated with a degree in computer information systems and a 3.674 GPA.

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 an NCAA automatic or provisional qualifying mark in an individual or relay event at some point in either indoor or outdoor seasons.

Last year, JCSU Womens Track & Field earned the All-Academic Team Award with a 3.56 team grade point average. The Lady Golden Bulls track and field team had the third highest GPA of the 67 All-Academic teams for the 2010 track and field season.

Those institutions given All-Academic Team status will be named on Tuesday, August 9 (women) and Thursday, August 11 (men).

USTFCCCA CIAA 2011 Division II Track & Field All-Academic Honorees, WOMEN

Naffene Briscoe	Johnson C. Smith University
Rosemarie Carty	Johnson C. Smith University
Sasha-Gay Cunningham	Johnson C. Smith University
Monique Kelly	Johnson C. Smith University
Xahnn-Georgia Reid	Johnson C. Smith University
Danielle Williams	Johnson C. Smith University
Shermaine Williams	Johnson C. Smith University
Unique Connor	Saint Augustines College
Sheena Johns	Saint Augustines College