TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State men’s and women’s track & field teams earned 17 All-Academic honors for the United States Track & Field Cross County Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) honors for the 2013 indoor and outdoor seasons, a combined total that ranked eighth nationally among all Division I programs.
The Seminole women claimed 10 All-Academic honors, while the men landed seven honorees. Eligible student-athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher and be ranked among the top 96 in an individual event indoors (or top 48 in a relay event), or have qualified for the NCAA Division I Championship postseason during the outdoor season.
In addition to the individual honors, both the FSU women and men earned All-Academic team honors for posting a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The Seminole women were among the national leaders with a team GPA of 3.32, while the men met the standard with a 3.04 cumulative GPA.
Among the Seminoles recognized individually, six of the 10 women’s selections advanced to the NCAA Championship meet, including first-team All-Americans Colleen Quigley (3.97, dietetics major), Amanda Winslow (3.79, sport management) and Sage Watson (3.66, business). Championship qualifiers Linden Hall (3.72, dietetics), Kayleigh Tyerman (3.86, psychology) and Chelsea Whalen (3.60, sport management) were also recognized.
Hannah Acton (4.00, exercise science), Sarah Chandler (3.82, commercial music/marketing), Elizabeth Ichite (3.52, exercise science) and Marecia Pemberton (3.49, psychology) rounded out honorees among Seminole women.
Of the seven Seminole men earning All-Academic distinction, Stefan Brits (3.95, chemical science), Michael Fout (3.46, psychology) and Alonzo Russell (3.96, psychology) also claimed first-team All-American honors at the NCAA Championship meet.
Tremaine Grant (3.25, information technology), Jeff Pelage (3.59, global merchandising and product development/graduate school), Stargell Williams (3.84, sport management) and Jakub Zivec (3.35, finance) accounted for the other Seminoles honored.
The nationally-ranked men’s and women’s teams also stacked up favorably among both Atlantic Coast Conference and in-state programs. Florida State’s total of 10 women honored ranked second in the ACC to Duke’s nation-leading 14, and ranked tied for eighth nationally for total selections – more than any other in-state program - among all programs. Furthermore, the Seminoles’ 3.32 team GPA ranked second in the conference to the Blue Devils (3.53) and also second among in-state schools to Jacksonville University (3.38).
The FSU women were one of five Florida schools to earn All-Academic team honors, joining Jacksonville, UCF (3.17), Florida (3.14) and USF (3.11).
With seven All-Academic selections, the Florida State men tied for the most honorees – with Duke – among ACC schools and led all in-state programs. The ‘Noles were one of only two in-state Division I programs to earn All-Academic team honors and had a higher GPA than rival Florida (3.02).
FSU’s combined 17 individual All-Academic selections paced all in-state schools. Florida (10), USF (6), UCF (4), Jacksonville (3) and Florida Atlantic (1) were the only other Florida schools to have student-athletes earn All-Academic distinction.
