By: By Hunter McKay
USTFCCCA Women's All-Academic Team Release | USTFCCCA Men's All-Academic Individual Release | USTFCCCA Women's All-Academic Individual Release
KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State women's track and field team were named a USTFCCCA 2017 Division I All-Academic Team for carrying a 3.03 GPA through the 2016-17 academic year.
"I'm proud of the effort that each individual has put forth in helping our women's program earn the USTFCCCA All-Academic team award," Director of Track and Field Andy Eggerth said. "We talk to our athletes all the time about not just being champions on the track but being champions in the classroom. It's a challenge to meet such high athletic and academic expectations all year long, but I'm glad that we were able to do our part to help the athletic department GPA and more importantly to prepare our young ladies for great careers."
The team not only had a great year in the classroom but also was strong on the track by taking first place at the Indoor and Outdoor ASUN Championships as well as
Jordan Gray earning first team All-America honors in the heptathlon at the Outdoor NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Individually Hunter Arnold and Brenton Rosa of the men's track team and
Jordan Gray,
Laura-Maria Oja,
Julija Tarvide and
Hannah Wood of the women's team earned USTFCCCA 2017 Division I All-Academic honors.
"Overall, I am impressed with the commitment these student-athletes had made towards their academics," Eggerth said. "They not only have shown their competitiveness in athletic competition but also in their classwork. They all have represented our track and field program and KSU well."
Arnold, graduated this summer from KSU with a 3.33 GPA had a solid final outdoor season. He won the pole vault at the Virginia Challenge clearing 5.03m (16'6") becoming the first pole-vaulter in school history to ever clear 16 feet in an outdoor meet. He was second at the Western Carolina Invitational in the pole vault after landing a career-best vault of 5.17m (16' 11.5") and grabbed the silver medal in the pole vault after clearing 4.96m (16' 3.25") at the ASUN Championships. The Kennesaw, Georgia native finished his career with a 29th place finish in the pole vault with a vault of 5.00m (16' 4.75") at the NCAA Championships.
Rosa, who carries a 3.5 GPA in biology, just completed a strong sophomore campaign. In outdoor track, he finished third in the pole vault with a leap of 4.61m (15'1.5") at the Raleigh Relays and fourth at the UNF Invitational with a vault of 4.70m (15' 5"). He cleared 5.03m (16'6") for a second-place finish at the Virginia Challenge. The Dublin, Georgia native had his season-best vault of 5.06m (16'7.25") to win the gold medal at the ASUN Championships. He finished 24th at the NCAA Championships after clearing 5.00m (16' 4.75").
Gray, who holds a 3.66 GPA in integrative studies, had one of best seasons by a female KSU outdoor track program history. Gray won the heptathlon at the Joe Walker Invitational scoring 5377 points and was second in the heptathlon at the Virginia Challenge. She won the heptathlon at the ASUN Championships scoring an ASUN Outdoor Championship meet and KSU school record 5641 points. Her point total was 16th-best in the United States and 14th-best in the NCAA this season. The sophomore won all seven events in the heptathlon at the ASUN Championships while setting three school records. She earned a seventh-place finish in the heptathlon final at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon where she scored 5621 points on June 10-11. She broke her heptathlon javelin school record with a toss of 39.97m (131'2") at the NCAA Championships. She finished 13th in the heptathlon at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 24-25 after scoring 5460 points. The Ball-Ground, Georgia wrapped up her season with a fifth-place finish in the heptathlon at the 2017 IAAF Capital Cup scoring 5582 points.
Oja currently owns a 3.77 GPA in biochemistry. In outdoor track, she competed in five meets as well. At the ASUN Championships, she won a gold medal in the 4x100m relay (44.64) and the silver medal in the 100m hurdles (13.54). She finished 33rd with a time of 13.65 seconds in the 100m hurdles and was part of the Owls 4x100m relay team that finished 18th at the NCAA Championships. The Paernu, Estonia will graduate in the spring of 2018.
Tarvide clasps a 3.25 GPA in political science. She won the high jump at the Western Carolina Invitational after clearing 1.73m (5' 8"). The freshman won the gold medal and qualified for the first round of the NCAA Championships with a leap of 1.74m (5'8.5") in her lone event at the ASUN Championships. Her leap of 1.74m at the ASUN Championships was the best high jump of anybody in the ASUN this outdoor season. She took home 37th place with a clearance of 1.69m (5' 6.5").
Wood graduated this May with a 3.57 GPA in sociology. Wood won the 100m with a time of 11.59 and was second in the 200m with a time of 23.93 at the UNF Invitational. She would run a time of 11.56 to finish third in the 100m at the Virginia Challenge. At the ASUN Outdoor Championships, she set the school record in the 100m finishing second in a time of 11.48. The Carrollton, Georgia native also picked up a gold medal in the 4x100m relay and a silver medal in the 200m at the ASUN Championships. She closed out her career competing at the NCAA Championships with a 24th-place finish in the 100m (11.91) in the semifinals and an 18th-place finish in the 4x100m relay.
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