Wheeling, W. Va. – The United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coach's Association (USTFCCA) announced their annual academic awards with more than 100 teams and over 400 student-athletes honored. The Wheeling University Women's Track & Field team ended up on both sides of the list with sophomore Keala McCurry being named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete and the Women's Track & Field team being named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. The team produced a combined GPA of 3.4 this season while McCurry earned the first All-Academic Award of her career.
"For Keala, this is a huge accomplishment," said Wheeling University Head Track & Field Coach Patrick Stanton. "To earn All-Academic USTFCCCA as an individual you must maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA and hit the NCAA provisional mark in your event. As just a sophomore, Keala showed she has what it takes to excel as a Pole Vaulter at some of the highest levels, while also pursuing excellence in the classroom. She did this on top of getting observation/tutoring hours for her education major, being a leader on campus in SGA (Student Government Association) and being a leader on our team."
As a team, the Cardinals went through a transition period after winning three-straight Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships from 2019 to 2021. They featured a young squad that had some standout performances while finishing fourth in this year's MEC Championship event. Among those standouts was McCurry, who was Wheeling's top Pole Vaulter throughout the 2021-2022 season. She won both the indoor and outdoor MEC Championship in the event and finished .55 meters higher than the rest of the field. It was the first two MEC Individual Championships of McCurry's career as she continued to get better and better with each event.
To qualify to be a USTFCCCA All-Academic player, the student-athlete must average between a 3.25 and 4.0 cumulative grade point average on the typical 4.0 grading scale. They also must have at least 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours completed through the end of the semester of competition at the institution. Finally, the athlete must also have hit an automatic or provisional qualifying mark for either the indoor season or the outdoor season. McCurry was a provisional qualifier in both indoor and outdoor season, earning her the award. She was one of just three athletes from the MEC to earn All-Academic honors with West Liberty's Kelsi Hulit and Charleston's Elise Levell earning the honor.
"For Keala, this is a huge accomplishment," said Wheeling University Head Track & Field Coach Patrick Stanton. "To earn All-Academic USTFCCCA as an individual you must maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA and hit the NCAA provisional mark in your event. As just a sophomore, Keala showed she has what it takes to excel as a Pole Vaulter at some of the highest levels, while also pursuing excellence in the classroom. She did this on top of getting observation/tutoring hours for her education major, being a leader on campus in SGA, and being a leader on our team."
To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, the team must have a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher for all student-athletes on the institution's NCAA Squad List for Indoor and or Outdoor Track & Field. Again, Wheeling was one of three MEC institutions to earn the award with a combined GPA of 3.4. West Liberty and Charleston also earned All-Academic Team honors for their work during the season.
"I couldn't be more proud of the women's team earning this honor," said Stanton. "As a team, this is a goal we have every year, and this year our women really set the tone with a 3.4 cumulative average. I'm very blessed to get to work with well-rounded and motivated student athletes."
The Wheeling University Women's Track & Field team now has another year of experience under their belt as they look to keep improving and get back to the top of the MEC during the 2022-2023 season.
