NEW ORLEANS - Seven members of the Virginia Tech men’s track and field team have been named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I All-Academic Track & Field team. Junior thrower Alexander Ziegler (Dischingen, Germany) was named as the Outdoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second-straight season. He was joined on the All-Academic team by Ronnie Black, Brayden Burleigh, Jason Cusack, Hasheem Halim, Matthias Treff, Chris Walizer.
Ziegler, a management major, won the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships this spring with a personal best mark of 248-7 (75.78m). The junior also won his first ACC title in hammer this season with a mark of 229-11 (70.09m). He is a two-time USTFCCCA and ACC Outdoor Field Performer of the Year.
Black, a junior psychology major, earned second-team All-America honors after recording a ninth place finish in the high jump (7-2.5, 2.20m) at the NCAA Championship. Heading into the championship, he won the NCAA East Prelims with a mark of 7-2.25 (2.19m).
Burleigh, a freshman, took runner-up honors in the 3000 meters at the Colonial Relays (8:24.60) and finished 14th at the ACC Championship in the 10000 meters (30:44.71).
Cusack, a senior industrial design major, won Virginia Tech's first ACC title in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a season best time of 8:55.36 at the ACC Championship.
Halim, a senior architecture major, earned first team All-America honors after finishing fourth in the triple jump at the NCAA Championship with a school record jump of 54-1.25 (16.49m).
Treff, a junior engineering major, took third in the javelin at the NCAA Championship with a season best mark of 248-9 (75.83m) to garner first team All-America honors. At the ACC Championship, he won his third conference title in the javelin with a meet-record mark of 245-0 (74.68m).
Walizer, a senior human nutrition, foods, & exercise major, earned All-ACC honors with a third place finish in the 1500 meters at the ACC Championship (3:44.80).
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either of the following athletic standards: for the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org; for the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).
Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards are determined from among those who earned All-Academic status and placed highest in individual events at the most recent NCAA Championships. Those who earn multiple individual championship titles rank higher in the tie-breaking process, and cumulative GPA is weighed as the final tiebreaker to establish a winner. Separate awards are given to track athletes and field athletes for the indoor and outdoor seasons, resulting in four categories.