All-Academic honors given to five Tulane Track & Field athletes

NEW ORLEANS – Five Tulane women’s track & field student-athletes received All-Academic honors for the 2016-17 academic year from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, according to an announcement made by the organization. Alyssa Applebee, Laruschka Joubert, Rebekah Markel, Daliadiz Ortiz and Mary Carson Pitts were recognized for their accomplishments in the classroom.

“We’re very proud of the accomplishments of our student-athletes,” Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Eric Peterson said. “This is an academic recognition, but they also had to achieve at a high-level athletically in order to be considered. It’s well-deserved, and my coaches and I are all very proud of what they’ve done.”

In order to qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, student-athletes must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher, and finished the regular season ranked inside the top 96 in the country in an individual event for the indoor season or competed in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships, including preliminary rounds, during the outdoor season.

A First-Team All-American, Applebee became the first pole vaulter in school history to receive the honor when she cleared a school record 4.30m en route to recording a program best seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships. The Illinois native also earned five gold medals this past spring, including one at the American Athletic Conference Championships. Ortiz finished her stellar Tulane career in her first ever appearances at the NCAA Championships, placing 17th with a best mark of 49.73m in javelin finals and earning an All-American honorable mention.

Pitts and Markel took second and third, respectively, with marks of 4.04m in the pole vault finals at the AAC Championships, while Joubert finished 14th with a mark of 46.37m in javelin finals at the NCAA East Regional.

In addition, the USTFCCCA announced that the Tulane women’s track & field team was an All-Academic Team honoree. The women’s team racked up a GPA of 3.587. A program must have at least a 3.00 cumulative team GPA to be in contention for an All-Academic Team honor.