UDC Women’s Track & Field Earns USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Award; Benjamin & Mais Earn Individual All-Academic Honors
NEW ORLEANS, LA – The University of the District of Columbia women's track & field team was one of 115 women's teams selected by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as an All-Academic Team, and seniors Jerily Benjamin and Kimoy Mais were both selected as individual All-Academics.
"Success on the track is great," Head Coach Alton McKenzie said. "But academic excellence off the track is even more special. That is the true definition of a "Student-Athlete."
Teams with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher were eligible for the All-Academic Team award, and McKenzie's squad had a GPA of 3.30.
Meanwhile, to qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track & Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have reached a provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championship in either indoor or outdoor seasons. Benjamin and Mais were two of a total of 450 women from 108 institutions to earn All-Academic honors for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments.
The individual award marks the 3rd consecutive recognition for Benjamin who was also this year's East Coast Conference Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year and UDC's Reslyn W. Henley Memorial Award recipient. Also, under McKenzie, the Firebirds track & field squad has earned the All-Academic Team honor two of the past three years.