Three Frogs Garner USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors
8/4/2011 12:00:00 AM
Aug. 4, 2011
FORT WORTH, Texas - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has named Samantha Collins, Jack O'Brien and Kelsey Samuels to the All-Academic team.
With the three honorees, head coach Darryl Anderson has now had a student-athlete earn all-academic recognition every year since 2006.
Collins had a solid season for the Horned Frogs after redshirting in 2010. The Mesa, Ariz., native earned a trip to the NCAA West Preliminary weekend in Eugene, Ore., after serving up a season's best leap of 19-7 feet in the long jump at the Horned Frog Invitational. Collins enjoyed four combined top-five finishes in the long jump between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
O'Brien was one of the top 800-meter runners in the country in 2011, ranking inside the top-25, according to TFRRS.org. The junior from Lampasas, Texas, enjoyed a personal-best clocking of 1:48.56 at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational. O'Brien collected all-conference honors in 800 meters and as the anchor on the 1600-meter relay. The biology major enjoyed top-5 finishes in all of his 800-meter races in 2011, including four runner-up performances. O'Brien won his heat in the first round of the 800 meters at the NCAA Preliminaries, pacing the field with a time of 1:50.23 to move into quarterfinals.
Samuels won the MWC shot put title on the women's side during the indoor season, while also setting the program record for the weight throw at 57-5 feet. The Mesquite, Texas product set a personal record of 51-10 ½ feet in the shot put at the Bobby Lane Invitational and earned runner-up honors at the conference outdoor championships.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, student-athletes must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either 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).
Players Mentioned
