By: by Scott Lipsky
Official Announcement
NEW ORLEANS- Kennesaw State Owls track and field standouts Jill Arthur and Mackenzie Howe were named to the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Honoree list on Thursday, capping off a great year for both student-athletes in competition and in the classroom.
Arthur, a rising senior majoring in Finance, took home the Triple Jump title and finished second in the long jump at the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, setting a conference record in Triple Jump. Over the course of the indoor and outdoor seasons, she earned a total of four All A-Sun honors. Her Triple Jump effort earned her a spot in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary Round in Greensboro, N.C., where she finished 44th. She earned her way to All-Academic status with a 3.25 grade point average this year.
Howe, a Health and Exercise Science major, earned a 3.26 grade point average during a terrific junior campaign in cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field. During cross country season, she won five A-Sun Runner of the Week awards, including four in a row, on her way to a second place finish in the A-Sun Championship. She then placed 18th in the NCAA Cross Country South Region Championship, garnering All-Region status.
Her success continued on the track, where she earned four All A-Sun honors, including the outdoor titles in the 5000 and 10,000 meters, her time of 35:16.96 in the 10,000 meters setting a new conference record. She would also make the trip to the NCAA East Preliminary Round, competing in the 10,000 Meters, where she would post a 20th place performance.
In order to be eligible for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, a student-athlete had to achieve a minimum cumulative 3.25 grade point average and participate in an NCAA Outdoor Championship or meet a provisional or automatic NCAA Indoor Championship qualifying mark. A total of 557 women in NCAA Division I met those standards.
