Deanna Price Assistant Coach - Throws | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Deanna Price Assistant Coach - Throws | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Illinois track and field has announced that ten of its athletes have been honored with College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District recognition. The announcement was made today in Champaign, Illinois.
The athletes who received this honor are Jessica McDowell, Will Merrick, Mia Morello, Viktor Morozov, Aiden Ouimet, Sam Poglitsch, Will Rezny, Jack Roberts, Kelsey Rothas, and Amber Simpson.
Amber Simpson's performance stood out as she set a Big Ten and school record in the hammer throw with a distance of 70.21 meters at the Gary Wieneke Memorial. This achievement led the Midwest region and ranked second nationally for the 2024 season. She later earned All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a throw of 67.73 meters.
Jessica McDowell also had an impressive season with her 400m time of 51.02 seconds at the NCAA West Preliminaries being the fastest in the Midwest region. She improved her time to 50.98 seconds at the NCAA Outdoor Championships; however, nominations were submitted before this meet. Additionally, she held the region's second-fastest 200m time and eleventh-fastest 100m time.
Mia Morello cleared a vault height that ranked fourth in the region during the NCAA West Preliminaries while Kelsey Rothas recorded a vault ranking twenty-second in the region at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Sam Poglitsch achieved the nineteenth-fastest regional time in the 3000m steeplechase at these championships as well.
Aiden Ouimet set a school record and achieved the Midwest region's second-best decathlon score at the Mt. SAC Relays. Viktor Morozov secured eligibility for this honor by achieving one of the top triple jump distances in his region during preliminary competitions.
Will Merrick ran a notable time in his event ranking tenth in his region while Will Rezny threw one of its best shot puts during Florida Relays. Jack Roberts completed one of his event’s top times within his region during conference championships.
Eligibility for these awards requires athletes to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.50 and be sophomores or higher both academically and athletically while their performances must rank within their regional top-50 lists for individual events excluding relays.
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