Kaydian Jones, Jerily Benjamin Garner USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors for 2nd Straight Year
NEW ORLEANS – Senior Kaydian Jones and junior Jerily Benjamin were two of a total of 422 women from 99 institutions across the NCAA Division II to earn United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honors for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments. This is the second consecutive year both student-athletes have garnered this honor.
"Jerily and Kaydian being named All-Academics caps off what has been an amazing year on and off the track for our program," head coach Alton McKenzie said. "They are perfect examples of what we're trying to establish here at the University of the District of Columbia, and this honor speaks volumes about the consistency we've come to realize in creating a solid track & field program across the board."
Jones and Benjamin qualified for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track & Field Team by compiling a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or better, and reaching provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships in either indoor or outdoor seasons. Both Jones and Benjamin competed on the Firebirds' 4x400M Relay team which finished 6th at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championship and 4th at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championship – setting school records and earning All-American honors at both events.
Jones (Journalism – Kingston, Jamaica/St. Andrew HS) who also earned Capital One Academic Third Team All-America honors through the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), has a 3.53 cumulative GPA. Benjamin (Health Education – Queens, NY/Phillip Randolph HS) boasts a 3.58 cumulative GPA.
"I'm very proud of them both for what they've accomplished as exceptional student-athletes here at the University of the District of Columbia," McKenzie said.