The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s track and field team went out in style.
In its final season, the program led the nation for the second year in a row in team grade point average with a cumulative 3.59. In addition, the UTC women finished second in NCAA Division I with a 3.73 average – right behind Lipscomb’s 3.74.
The announcements came from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The men’s track team was cut after the 2014-15 school year to improve UTC’s compliance with Title IX federal requirements.
Austin Casassa, John Gilpin, Patrick O’Brien and Tosin Ayotunde posted 4.0 GPAs for the academic year, while six teammates hit the perfect mark in at least one of the two semesters. Fourteen men’s Mocs were named to the dean’s list with 16 making the athletic director’s honor roll.
Joanna Elmore, Helenka Kis and Maddison Melchionna had perfect GPAs for the women, with seven others earning a 4.0 in at least one of the two semesters. Seventeen were named to both the dean’s list and athletic director’s honor roll.
“I am very proud of the work ethic of our student-athletes, both on the track and in the classroom,” UTC coach Bill Gautier said in a school release. “We stress academics in recruiting; we want them for both their athletic as well as their academic abilities. I recruit the student-athlete who is strong mentally. They have had a tough year and were still able to maintain a high level of achievement academically.”
* Girls Preparatory School graduate Tiana Mills was one of two Carson-Newman track athletes to earn the all-academic honor in Division II.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.