Eight Women’s Track & Field performers named to Academic All-Big 12 Team
· IRVING, Texas -- Eight student-athletes from The University of Texas women's track and field team were named to the 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Conference Track & Field Team, the league office announced Tuesday. Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and the media relations offices, All-Academic First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and on the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA. Freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible. The Longhorn contingent is led by senior middle distance specialist and All-American Temeka Kincy who earned First Team All-Academic honors for the third consecutive year. Kincy (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North HS) is a biology/pre-med major who will attend Indiana University medical school on a full scholarship this upcoming fall. At the UT women's athletics banquet on April 28, Kincy received the women's athletics highest honor -- the V.F. "Doc" Neuhaus Presidential Scholarship Award for outstanding achievement in athletics and academics. Among those honored by the Big 12 were 14 nominated with a 4.00 grade point average -- 11 women and three men, including two Texas female performers. UT junior Kelly Heinbaugh (Seabrook, Texas/Pearland HS), a kinesiology major, and senior pole vaulter Anne Phillips (Forth Worth, Texas/Trainity Valley) both earned First Team All-Academic honors for the first time. Phillips will graduate this weekend with a degree in corporate communications. The fourth Longhorn to gain Academic First Team honors was sophomore distance runner Lauren Salisbury (Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville HS), an advertising major. Gaining Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honors from Texas were: sophomore middle distance runner Betzy Jimenez (Hereford, Texas/Hereford HS); senior pole vaulter Ashley Laughlin (Marble Falls, Texas/Marble Falls HS); junior distance runner Katara Rosby (Baton Rouge, La./Magnet HS); and sophomore distance performer Mariya Townswick (Briarcliff, Texas/Lake Travis HS). Jimenez is majoring in biology/pre-med, Laughlin and Rosby are kinesiology majors and Townswick is a petroleum engineering major. This is the second Academic All-Big 12 honor for both Rosby and Townswick, while sophomores Jimenez and Salisbury are eligible for the first time this year. Laughlin also gains her third league academic honor. At the UT women's athletics awards presentation on April 28, Kincy and Phillips both collected team academic MVP honors, with Kincy earning the honor as the track/cross country academic standout and Phillips gaining the honor as the team's top field event student-athlete. To qualify for Academic All-Big 12 honors, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of his/her team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible. The track performers will be in action this weekend at the 2008 Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The competition takes place at Potts Field on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder from Friday through Sunday, May 16-18. It will mark the first time Colorado has hosted the event. The Texas women's track and field squad, under the direction of head coach Bev Kearney, has earned the most conference outdoor titles with a league-leading six crowns (1997-99, 2003-04, '06). The Longhorn men (1997, '99, 2003, '06) are tied with Nebraska (1998, 2000, '02, '04) for the most Big 12 men's championships. On the women's side, Kansas State (2001-02) and Nebraska (2000, '05) trail the Longhorns with two championships apiece.
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