Southland Conference Names 2020 Academic All-Conference Track & Field Teams

FRISCO, Texas – The Southland Conference announced the 2020 Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Academic All-Conference teams Tuesday.

Central Arkansas leads the way with five selections on the 30-member men’s squad, followed by McNeese and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with four honorees each. UIW and Sam Houston State tacked on three members apiece, while Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, Lamar and Southeastern Louisiana each accounted for a pair of honorees. Nicholls, Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin closed out the men’s team with one student-athletes each.

A total of 13 male student-athletes made their return to the all-academic squad, including Lamar’s Matthew Arnold, who earned an automatic selection after being named a 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. Abilene Christian’s Ross Dean, Central Arkansas’ Hunter Henderson and McNeese’s Nemanja Koviljac and Josh Raphael all topped the men’s roster with perfect 4.0 GPAs.

The women’s side was led by Abilene Christian and Stephen F. Austin, earning six spots each on the academic all-conference lineup. McNeese came in next with five selections, followed by four honorees apiece from UIW and Northwestern State. Central Arkansas accounted for a trio of student-athletes, followed by Houston Baptist and Sam Houston State, which garnered two spots apiece. Lamar, New Orleans, Nicholls and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi round out the women’s roster with one honoree each.  

Of the 36 members on the women’s squad, 11 are making repeat appearances, including three-time selections Irene Akwitti (ACU), Alanna Arvie (MCN) and Jasmyn Steels (NSU). A staggering 14 of the 36 women’s honorees earned unblemished 4.0 GPAs.

Southland Conference Track & Field All-Academic Teams are selected by a 50-percent rule. Of the total number of nominees, half are named all-academic selections. Honorees are nominated and voted upon by head coaches, sports information directors, and academic staff members from each university.

2020 Southland Conference Men’s Track & Field Academic All-Conference Team

2020 Southland Conference Women’s Track & Field Academic All-Conference Team

* Automatic selection

² Two-time all-academic selection

³ Three-time all-academic selection

^{^} Google Cloud Academic All-District selection

{Courtesy: Press Release from the Southland Conference}