West Long Branch, N.J. - Monmouth University track and field standouts Vincent DuVernois, Lindsey Walsh and Mary Wilks were named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All- Academic Teams, officials announced this week.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have qualified for at least the First Round of the NCAA Championships.
"We are very proud that all three of our student-athletes who qualified for the First Round of the NCAA Championships also earned Academic All-America honors," said head man Joe Compagni. "This is a great tribute to these three students, and also to our academic support staff and assistant coaches, who always value academic excellence first and athletic success as a close second.
"DuVernois, a rising junior with a 3.71 grade point average, threw for 224'2" (68.34m) at the NCAA Division I Championships and became the first Hawk to earn All-American accolades since Tisifenee Taylor (long jump) in 2007. He is the first for the men's team since Bobby Smith (javelin) earned All-American status in 2007 and is also the only sophomore in school history to earn the distinction. The Pennsylvania native toss of 216'10" earned him the top prize at the Northeast Conference Championships, while his mark of 206' 7" at the IC4A Championships landed him as an All-East performer.
An education major with a 3.34, Walsh finished second in the heptathlon, the highest finish ever for a Monmouth athlete in the event at ECAC's. Her score of 4,686 points included a school record leap of 5'9.25" in the high jump and gave the junior her first All-East honor in outdoor track after earning three-straight indoors accolades. At the NCAA Championships, the school record holder in the high jump cleared the opening height of 5'5" in her first trip to the event.
Wilks, an early childhood education major with a 3.43, registered a mark of 149' 05" (45.55m) which advanced her to the finals at the NCAA Championships. The senior dual sport athlete's toss broke Tiffany Hahn's 2007 mark of 147' 4". She finished 15th overall, the highest finish for Monmouth's women at the NCAAs since Taylor finished second in 2007 and went on to earn First Team All-America honors in the long jump. Wilks landed a throw of 147'3" to earn first at the Northeast Conference Championships a week before earning her second straight All- East honors with a throw of 145'6" at the ECAC Championships.
The Monmouth University men's and women's outdoor track and field teams each won their respective 2011 Northeast Conference Championships this past spring. The men won their third straight title, and their seventh in the last eight years, while the women also claimed their third consecutive championship, and their fourth in the last five years.