Six Bulls Named to Academic All-MAC Indoor Track and Field Teams
4/11/2013 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
BUFFALO, NY – Six University at Buffalo athletes have been named to the Academic All-Mid-American Conference Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field teams. The league announced its honorees from its Cleveland headquarters this morning.
Men's athletes Zach Ahart, Doug Hannon, Austin Price and Chris Reape and women's athletes Caitlin Curry and Shante' White were named to their respective Academic All-MAC teams.
Ahart, a junior chemistry major with a 3.422 grade point average, set season best times in the mile (4:22.19) at the SPIRE Midwest Open on January 26, the 3,000-meters (8:49.43) at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup on February 2 and the 5,000-meters (14:57.33) at SPIRE Division I Invitational on February 9. Ahart also earned Academic All-MAC honors in cross country last fall and indoor track in 2012.
Hannon, a junior English major with a 3.308 grade point average, finished seventh in the triple jump (46-9, 14.25m) at the MAC Indoor Championships on February 23. Hannon set his top triple jump mark of the indoor season (47-7.25, 14.51m) at Penn State's Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup on February 2.
Price, a sophomore biomedical science major with a 3.613 grade point average, earned All-MAC Second Team honors at the league championships as he placed second in the triple jump at 49-1.50 (14.97m). He won the men's triple jump at the Cornell Upstate Challenge on January 19, setting his season best distance of 50-0.75 (15.26m) as well as his best long jump distance of 21-11.75 (6.70m) at Cornell meet.
Reape, a sophomore business administration major with a 3.266 grade point average, also picked up All-MAC Second Team recognition at the league championships meet as finished second in the high jump setting a UB school record of 6-11.50 (2.12m).
Curry, a senior business administration major with a 3.700 grade point average and now pursuing an MBA degree, set her top 3,000-meter time of 10:38.32 at the season-opening Eastern Michigan Triangular on January 11 and her top 5,000-meter time of 19:08.20 at the SPIRE Midwest Open on January 26. She also serves as the Athletes for Athletes Officer for UB's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee,
White, a senior nursing major with a 3.752 grade point average, earned second-team All-America honors at the NCAA National Indoor Championships to cap off an impressive season. White won the MAC weight throw title with a league and UB record of 69-8 (21.23m) and later finished 15th at the NCAA meet at 61-9.75 (18.84m). She won the weight throw at three meets during the regular season, the Cornell Upstate Challenge (January 19), the SPIRE Midwest Open (January 26) and the Cornell Denault Invitational (February 16). Earlier this month, she was named a finalist for the Giant Steps Award presented by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS).
"We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of our student-athletes," stated women's head coach Vicki Mitchell. "Shante' has been at the top of the academic honors list every year and to earn both All-MAC academic honors along with winning the MAC Field Athlete of the Meet and, of course, her second-team All-American honors in the weight throw, is simply amazing. Caitlin Curry, as a first year graduate student in the MBA program has excelled across the board and continues to be a role model of academic success."
The UB men finished fourth among the five MAC men's programs at the 2013 league championship meet in Ypsilanti, MI in February. The UB women placed sixth among the 12 league schools.
A total of 54 athletes (21 men and 33 women) were named to the Academic All-MAC teams.
To be nominated, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award. Outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments from the current season only are considered. The Academic All-MAC team is voted on by the league's faculty athletic representatives.
