Nine Student-Athletes Named to Southland Conference All-Academic Teams
6/12/2018 2:31:00 PM | Track & Field
SFA places nine on conference academic list for 2017-18
Full Southland All-Academic Release
FRISCO, Texas – The 2018 Southland Conference Track and Field All-Academic Teams have been released, and feature a total of nine SFA student athletes. The release from the conference office on Tuesday included a total of 70 athletes from member institutions, with five Ladyjacks and four Lumberjacks making the cut. To be eligible for the All-Academic Team, athletes must have possessed at least a 3.00 GPA, competed in at least 50 percent of the team's contests that season, and have completed one full calendar year at the institution prior to the season in which the nomination occurs (true freshman and first year transfers are not eligible).
Ballots were voted on by a head coach, sports information director and academic/compliance staff member at each member institution, with voting for one's own athletes prohibited. CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees and eligible First Team All-Conference members are automatically selected to the All-Academic Teams.
Headlining the group for SFA are a pair of Southland Conference champions in Kerry Gleason and Kaylee Bizzell, with Gleason also making his third appearance on the All-Academic Team for his career. Gleason, a senior from Justin, Texas, rounded out his SFA career with a gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the 2018 Outdoor championships and also took part in the 4x400 relay, earning a silver medal by helping SFA take second. In addition to holding a 3.24 GPA in his Kinesiology studies, Gleason was also recognized as the Steve McCarty award winner during SFA's 2018 Champions Dinner, an award that recognizes excellent performance in the classroom and in competition. Gleason's All-Conference accolades were the 14th and 15th of his SFA career.
For Bizzell, the 2017-18 season was one of dominance in the pole vault, as the sophomore swept both the indoor and outdoor pole vault championships to earn her second and third All-Conference honors. The nursing major from Golden, Texas sports a 3.57 GPA and is making her first All-Academic team appearance in her first eligible season. Bizzell's personal-best effort of 4.15m at the Southland Conference outdoor championships also punched her ticket to the NCAA Division I West Preliminary meet.
One of just a few athletes on the women's ballot to hold a perfect 4.00 GPA, Taryn Surratt elevated her efforts to new heights in 2017-18, transitioning seamlessly from the cross country course to the track. In the 2017-18 Southland Outdoor Championships, Surratt raced to a runner-up finish in the 3000m steeplechase, registering her second career All-Conference Team accolade. In addition to her contributions to SFA Track and Field, Surratt has also excelled in her musical talents, currently taking part in the Houston Grand Opera YAVA (Young Artists Vocal Academy), and was named as her team's Murray Shaw Award (highest GPA) winner at the 2018 Champions Dinner.
Even as he missed out on the outdoor season due to a redshirt, Antonio Ruiz still put forth a spectacular 2017-18 campaign, capturing the gold medal at the 2017-18 Southland Indoor Championships, earning Second Team All-American honors at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships, and now earning a place on the All-Academic Team for the first time in his career. Owning a 3.13 GPA while majoring in Engineering Physics, Ruiz has also earned three Southland All-Conference accolades while at SFA.
Joining Bizzell and Ruiz are another pair of pole vaulters making their first appearance on the All-Academic Team. Dakota Mayr, a senior from Clifton, Texas, sported a 3.20 GPA in her business administration studies, and was a three-time scorer in Southland Conference championships in addition to earning Third Team All-Conference honors in 2017. While coming within one bar of her PR in the outdoor season at 4.03m, Mayr also qualified for the NCAA Division I West Preliminary meet for the first time in her career.
Horstmann marks his first All-Academic Team accolade after a successful 2017-18 campaign that culminated in his personal-best mark of 5.20m at the 2018 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships, finishing third to earn All-Conference Third Team honors, the first of his career. A native of San Antonio, Horstmann also qualified for the NCAA Division I West Preliminary meet, where he cleared 5.00m and finished 26th overall.
A seven-time conference scorer for SFA, Caitlin Lennon receives her first All-Academic nod after compiling a 3.42 GPA in her studies on Accounting. A multi-events athlete for the Ladyjacks, Lennon notched a trio of top-eight performances at the indoor and outdoor championships in the 2017-18 season, helping the Ladyjacks to a third-place finish indoors and a runners-up finish outdoors. Teammate and fellow heptathlete Sammi Brashears joins Lennon in receiving her first All-Academic honor, building on her appointment as her team's Murray Shaw Award recipient for the highest GPA. The Cushing, Texas native notched a top-eight mark in the pentathlon during the Southland Conference Indoor Championship this season, and just narrowly missed the mark in the outdoor season, finishing ninth with a PR effort of 4780.
Having finished his SFA career this season, Charles Fentress also accrued his first Southland Conference All-Academic Team automatic selection after being a part of SFA's gold medal 4x400 relay at the 2017-18 Southland Conference Indoor championships. The Woodville native sports a 3.38 GPA in Kinesiology studies, and qualified for his first NCAA Division I West Preliminary meet this spring as part of SFA's record-setting 4x100 meter relay. Fentress earned four All-Conference Team accolades during his time as a Lumberjack, and was a seven-time conference-scorer.
-SFA-
FRISCO, Texas – The 2018 Southland Conference Track and Field All-Academic Teams have been released, and feature a total of nine SFA student athletes. The release from the conference office on Tuesday included a total of 70 athletes from member institutions, with five Ladyjacks and four Lumberjacks making the cut. To be eligible for the All-Academic Team, athletes must have possessed at least a 3.00 GPA, competed in at least 50 percent of the team's contests that season, and have completed one full calendar year at the institution prior to the season in which the nomination occurs (true freshman and first year transfers are not eligible).
Ballots were voted on by a head coach, sports information director and academic/compliance staff member at each member institution, with voting for one's own athletes prohibited. CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees and eligible First Team All-Conference members are automatically selected to the All-Academic Teams.
Headlining the group for SFA are a pair of Southland Conference champions in Kerry Gleason and Kaylee Bizzell, with Gleason also making his third appearance on the All-Academic Team for his career. Gleason, a senior from Justin, Texas, rounded out his SFA career with a gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the 2018 Outdoor championships and also took part in the 4x400 relay, earning a silver medal by helping SFA take second. In addition to holding a 3.24 GPA in his Kinesiology studies, Gleason was also recognized as the Steve McCarty award winner during SFA's 2018 Champions Dinner, an award that recognizes excellent performance in the classroom and in competition. Gleason's All-Conference accolades were the 14th and 15th of his SFA career.
For Bizzell, the 2017-18 season was one of dominance in the pole vault, as the sophomore swept both the indoor and outdoor pole vault championships to earn her second and third All-Conference honors. The nursing major from Golden, Texas sports a 3.57 GPA and is making her first All-Academic team appearance in her first eligible season. Bizzell's personal-best effort of 4.15m at the Southland Conference outdoor championships also punched her ticket to the NCAA Division I West Preliminary meet.
One of just a few athletes on the women's ballot to hold a perfect 4.00 GPA, Taryn Surratt elevated her efforts to new heights in 2017-18, transitioning seamlessly from the cross country course to the track. In the 2017-18 Southland Outdoor Championships, Surratt raced to a runner-up finish in the 3000m steeplechase, registering her second career All-Conference Team accolade. In addition to her contributions to SFA Track and Field, Surratt has also excelled in her musical talents, currently taking part in the Houston Grand Opera YAVA (Young Artists Vocal Academy), and was named as her team's Murray Shaw Award (highest GPA) winner at the 2018 Champions Dinner.
Even as he missed out on the outdoor season due to a redshirt, Antonio Ruiz still put forth a spectacular 2017-18 campaign, capturing the gold medal at the 2017-18 Southland Indoor Championships, earning Second Team All-American honors at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships, and now earning a place on the All-Academic Team for the first time in his career. Owning a 3.13 GPA while majoring in Engineering Physics, Ruiz has also earned three Southland All-Conference accolades while at SFA.
Joining Bizzell and Ruiz are another pair of pole vaulters making their first appearance on the All-Academic Team. Dakota Mayr, a senior from Clifton, Texas, sported a 3.20 GPA in her business administration studies, and was a three-time scorer in Southland Conference championships in addition to earning Third Team All-Conference honors in 2017. While coming within one bar of her PR in the outdoor season at 4.03m, Mayr also qualified for the NCAA Division I West Preliminary meet for the first time in her career.
Horstmann marks his first All-Academic Team accolade after a successful 2017-18 campaign that culminated in his personal-best mark of 5.20m at the 2018 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships, finishing third to earn All-Conference Third Team honors, the first of his career. A native of San Antonio, Horstmann also qualified for the NCAA Division I West Preliminary meet, where he cleared 5.00m and finished 26th overall.
A seven-time conference scorer for SFA, Caitlin Lennon receives her first All-Academic nod after compiling a 3.42 GPA in her studies on Accounting. A multi-events athlete for the Ladyjacks, Lennon notched a trio of top-eight performances at the indoor and outdoor championships in the 2017-18 season, helping the Ladyjacks to a third-place finish indoors and a runners-up finish outdoors. Teammate and fellow heptathlete Sammi Brashears joins Lennon in receiving her first All-Academic honor, building on her appointment as her team's Murray Shaw Award recipient for the highest GPA. The Cushing, Texas native notched a top-eight mark in the pentathlon during the Southland Conference Indoor Championship this season, and just narrowly missed the mark in the outdoor season, finishing ninth with a PR effort of 4780.
Having finished his SFA career this season, Charles Fentress also accrued his first Southland Conference All-Academic Team automatic selection after being a part of SFA's gold medal 4x400 relay at the 2017-18 Southland Conference Indoor championships. The Woodville native sports a 3.38 GPA in Kinesiology studies, and qualified for his first NCAA Division I West Preliminary meet this spring as part of SFA's record-setting 4x100 meter relay. Fentress earned four All-Conference Team accolades during his time as a Lumberjack, and was a seven-time conference-scorer.
-SFA-
Players Mentioned
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Distance
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