Arkansas Nabs Three Top Academic Honors
AUSTIN, Texas – Arkansas track and field seniors Taylor Ellis-Watson, Jarrion Lawson and Andew Pisechko were all selected to the 2016 Academic All-America Division I Men’s and Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country first team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Friday morning.
All three seniors are first-time selections to the first team. Pisechko is the sole returning honoree earning second team recognition two-consecutive years prior.
Pursuing a master’s degree in mental health counseling, Ellis-Watson carries a cumulative GPA of 3.83. The Philadelphia native was honored by the Southeastern Conference as the indoor scholar-athlete of the year in recognition of her outstanding performance on the track and in the classroom.
An 11-time All-American, Ellis-Watson was also selected as the University’s H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete award nominee. One of the best quarter-milers in school history, Ellis-Watson will compete at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, on July 1-10 in hopes of earning a spot on the national team in the 200, 400 or 1,600-relay pool.
Recently named as an ESPYs award nominee and Bowerman award finalist, Lawson’s academic performance hasn’t gone unnoticed during his historic final campaign as a Razorback.
The five-time NCAA national champion excelled as a first year MBA student at the Walton College of Business earning a 4.0 GPA during his first semester of study. His classroom success earned him conference recognition as the SEC indoor and outdoor scholar-athlete of the year.
Also a student in the Walton College of Business, Pisechko has managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA from undergraduate coursework to graduate studies in accounting.
He placed sixth at the 2016 SEC Indoor Championship in the 800 contributing three points to the Razorbacks’ team win. Pisechko went on to qualify for the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championship later in the season in the same event. As the 2014 indoor track and field NCAA Elite 90 honoree, Pisechko is a first team All-American as a member of Arkansas’ distance medley relay team.
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