UDC Earns USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Honor; Jerily Benjamin Earns 4th Individual All-Academic Distinction
NEW ORLEANS – University of the District of Columbia Women's Cross Country & Track & Field earned United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team honors, and recent graduate Jerily Benjamin was named a Division II All-Academic Individual.
UDC is one of 117 women's teams to earn this distinction as a result of earning a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or higher. The Firebirds' team GPA was 3.20. Head Coach Alton McKenzie's program has earned this distinction now three of the last four years, including the last two.
Meanwhile, Benjamin has earned the All-Academic individual distinction all four years. She is one of a total of 483 women from 117 institutions to earn this honor. To qualify, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have reached a provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships in either the indoor or outdoor seasons.
Also a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District honoree this year, Benjamin graduated with a degree in Health Education and a final cumulative GPA of 3.62. She was also the 2015 recipient of the UDC Athletic Department's most distinguished honor for character and academic and athletic excellence – the Reslyn W. Henley Memorial Award.