By: KSU Sports Information
MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun Conference announced Kennesaw State Track and Field athlete Christie Leverette as the 2012 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Friday afternoon. Leverette was one of six members of the women's track and field program named to the A-Sun All Academic Team.
All together six members of the KSU Track & Field team were honored as Academic All-Conference Members, Leverette, Naomi Mack, Michelle Quimby, Ryan Burruss, Brian Graham and Jaakko Nieminen. Student-athletes chosen must embody the conference’s mission of Building Winners for Life, as well as boast a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (GPA) or better and participated in at least half of their team’s events.
Leverette, a junior Integrative Studies major with a 4.0 GPA returned to campus as an A-Sun Champion in the high jump after the 2012 Outdoor Track & Field Championship. She set a school record, A-Sun record and Hodges Stadium record with a jump of 1.76m. She also earned a spot on the podium with a second place finish in the heptathlon with a school record, 4,995 points.
“It is all about balance,” Leverette said. “I really enjoy my classes that I am in right now so it makes studying easier.”
Mack, a senior Computer Science major holds a 3.71 GPA and three KSU records. Mack finished third at the 2012 A-Sun Outdoor Championship in the heptathlon with 4663 points after winning the 200m (25.59) and the 100h (14.51). She set a KSU long jump record of 5.52 (wind aided) as well as a 200m-heptathlon record of 25.59 and 110m hurdles 14.51 during her prolific 2012 campaign.
Quimby, a junior with a 3.52 GPA is majoring in Health and Physical Education. She was honored as the 2012 A-Sun Indoor Track & Field, Field Athlete of the Championship earlier this season, and carried her success through the outdoor season. Quimby finished third in the pole vault at the A-Sun Outdoor Championship with a height 3.71m and first place at the Georgia Intercollegiate Invitational earlier in the year.
For the men, Graham, a Computer Science major bolsters a 3.71 GPA. Graham finished second in the Decathlon, setting a school record at the A-Sun Outdoor Championship with 6541 points, finishing first in the pole vault (4.50m) and 110h (14.89). He had one of his best season’s as an Owl, setting personal best in the 400m (49.77 school record for decathlon), 110H (14.40- decathlon), long jump (4.50m-decathlon) Javelin (45.01m) and decathlon (6541) this season.
Burruss, a Criminal Justice major holds a 3.51 GPA. A champion in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:20.94 at the 2012 A-Sun Outdoor Championship, Burruss ran an even better time of 9:16.77 at the Auburn Tiger Classic to have three top-five performances in the event in 2012. Burruss also competed in the 3000m (best time: 8:46.63), 5000m (best time: 15:17.35) and 10,000m (best time: 32.16.30).
Nieminen is a senior studying International Business with a 3.53 GPA. He finished third in the 10,000m at the A-Sun Outdoor Championship with a time of 31:16.50. Nieminen set the school record in the 5,000m at the San Francisco Distance Carnival with a pace of 14:25.89, and recorded a first finish at the Georgia Intercollegiate Invitational with a time of 14:44.52.
The Track & Field team is preparing for the Georgia Tech Last Chance Qualifier on May 11-12 to attempt to better ensure individual invitations to the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. For updates on the team, you can follow the program on Twitter @KSUTrackFieldXC.
