NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the All-Academic Team and Individual awards for the 2018-19 NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field seasons on Monday. The New Mexico State women's track and field squad earned the team honor while five Aggies brought home individual accolades.
Crissey Amberg,
Camira Haughton,
Taniya Mitchell,
Yemisi Oroyinyin and
Hannah Smith collected individual honors following stellar seasons in 2019. Amberg, Haughton, Mitchell and Smith competed at the NCAA West Preliminary last season while Oroyinyin's record-breaking mark in the weight throw during the indoor season helped the thrower qualify for the award.
Amberg made her second appearance at the NCAA West Preliminary, competing in the 1,500m, where she placed 41
st with a time of 4:30.26. Making her debut at the postseason meet, Haughton placed 30
th in the 400m, posting a time of 54.02. Mitchell threw 57.54m (188-9) in the hammer throw to come in 34
th while Smith came in 29
th in the triple jump with a mark of 12.39m (40-7.75). During the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, Oroyinyin threw 20.16m (66-1.75) in the weight throw, which broke the NM State program record and landed the thrower 46th nationally during the indoor season.
In total, 366 teams were honored for their academic accomplishments by the USTFCCCA. Breaking it down further, 227 of those were women's programs compared to 139 men's squads. There were also 902 women and 583 men who earned individual USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.
To qualify for the team award, the cumulative GPA for all student-athletes on the institution's NCAA Squad List for Indoor and/or Outdoor Track and Field must be 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Individually, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have met at least one of the following athletic standards. For the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org. For the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).
