MOBILE, Ala. – Four University of South Alabama track and field student-athletes were named Division I All-Academic Honorees, and the women’s team as a whole earned All-Academic Status in a recent collection of postseason academic awards presented to the Jaguars by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA).
 
Leah Hixon, Bobbie Williamson and Lindsay Schwartz represented the Lady Jags with individual honors, and Connor Smith of the men’s team was also named to the list.
 
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 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).
 
Hixon finished third in the women’s heptathlon and fifth in the javelin at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in May, going on to place 38^th in the latter at the NCAA East Regionals.
 
Williamson finished 28^th in the women’s hammer at her first regional appearance in May, following a top-five mark in the event at conference. Schwartz exhausted her collegiate track and field eligibility at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, late in June, where she set personal-records in three of the seven total phases of the women’s heptathlon to finish 14^th overall.
 
Schwartz preceded her trials performance with a top-10 school-record showing in the same event at the NCAA Championships for her third All-American honor, shortly after claiming her third-consecutive heptathlon title at the SBC Championships in Lafayette, La.
 
Smith took fifth overall in the men’s pole vault at the conference championships, clearing a personal-best 4.86 meters for the finish, after placing sixth in the men’s decathlon.
 
The Lady Jag women’s team compiled a grade-point average of 3.35 over the entire academic year to earn USTFCCCA All-Academic Status. Of the three Sun Belt institutions selected, USA accumulated the highest GPA.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).