Two Hurricane Harriers Earn Spots on Academic All-America Teams
6/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
June 25, 2003
Tulsa, Okla. - Both of the track teams at The University of Tulsa had members selected to the Verizon Academic All-America teams. Senior April Johnson and junior Ben Orozco earned second-team and third team honors, respectively.
A native of Fayetteville, Ark., Johnson competed in four cross country meets for the Golden Hurricane this season. She posted two top-25 finishes, including helping the team to a second-place finish at the WAC Cross Country Championships. Johnson has been a member of the President's and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all eight semesters, with a 4.00 grade point average. She was a member of the TU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and won TU's "Warren Garrison Academic Excellence Award" for having the highest GPA of any TU senior student-athlete. She has earned all-WAC Academic honors four for cross country and three times for track field.
Having competed in all seven cross country meets this season, Orozco recorded three top-10 finishes. The Kanapolis, Kan., native also earned second-team All-WAC honors with a 10th place finish at the WAC Cross Country Championships. During the indoor track season, he recorded a season-best time of 4:25.44 in the indoor mile run, 8:50.98 in the 3,000m and 15:51.41 in the 5,000m. Orozco won the outdoor 1,500m at the SMS/Queen City Inv. with a 4:00.16 mark. He owned the squad's second best times for the outdoor 3,000m (8:46.47) and the 5,000m (15:08.99). He has been a member of the Dean's List all six semesters as well as the Athletic Director's Honor Roll. He has also earned all-WAC Academic honors twice for cross country and twice for track and field. The pre-med major has a 3.95 grade point average.
The Verizon Academic All-America Teams program recognizes student-athletes who have succeeded on the field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected by votes from CoSIDA, the 1,800-member College Sports Information Directors of America. To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. Since the program's inception in 1952, over 12,000 student-athletes have been honored with the award.
The Verizon Academic All-America Teams program recognizes student-athletes in 12 programs: football, women's volleyball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's track & field/cross country, women's track & field/cross country, men's at-large and women's at-large. A first team, second team and third team are selected in both the University (Division I and I-AA) and College (Division II, III and NAIA) Divisions for each program.
