ANDERSON, S.C. - Ty Nelson, Jonathan Roberts, Daniel Similton, Spain Vaughan, and David Williams of the Anderson University men's cross country and track and field teams have been named to the Collegiate Sports Communicators (formerly known as CoSIDA) Academic All-District teams, announced on Wednesday (May 31).
The teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the track and in the classroom.
Nelson, a sophomore from Moore, S.C., finished the year with a 3.90 GPA in Mathematics & Engineering. For cross country, Ty earned All-SAC Third Team honors, and USTFCCCA All-Region and All-Academic recognition while helping lead the Trojans to the NCAA Cross Country National Championships for the first time in program history. During indoor track and field season, Nelson set a personal record in the 3,000m (8:51.34) for an eighth-place finish at the Gamecock Opener.
Roberts, a junior from Moore, S.C., finished his junior year with a 3.805 GPA in Pre-Physical Therapy Concentration. Jonathan earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors during cross-country season, and set two new personal bests during indoor track: 5,000m (15:09.64) for a fifth place finish at the Carolina Challenge, and the 3,000m (8:45.98) for a 16th place finish at the SAC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Similton, a senior from Indian Trail, N.C., graduated with a 3.79 GPA in Communications. In his senior season running for cross country, Daniel earned All-SAC Third Team honors, and USTFCCCA All-Region and All-Academic recognition. During outdoor track, Similton set personal bests in the 1500m at the Trojan Opener (4:01.65) for a second-place finish, and a sixth place finish in the 3,000mSC at the SAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships for another personal best.
Vaughan, a sophomore from Greer, S.C., has a 3.66 GPA while still being undeclared in his major of choice. Spain was a key contributor to the success of both the cross country and the track & field team. He set the 8k school record twice this season in cross country: 24:37 at the Queen City Invite and 24:34.1 at the Royals XC Challenge. His other accomplishments in cross country included: SAC Men's XC Runner of the Week, All-SAC First Team, USTFCCCA All-Region and All-Academic. Vaughan performed well at both the SAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, recording top-ten finishes in the 3k and 5k indoor, and the 10k outdoor.
Williams, a sophomore from Columbia, S.C., has a 3.80 GPA in Accounting. Between cross country & track and field season, David set seven personal best times, with six of them coming during track. At the Queen City Invite for cross country, he ran a 26:21 in the 8k for a 31st place finish. His best finish for track came at the Carolina Challenge, where his personal best 5,000m time (15:34.5) earned him a ninth-place finish.
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 29th.
The CoSIDA Academic All-District® teams are divided into geographic districts across the United States and Canada.
To be eligible for Academic All-District consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or important reserve, competing in at least 50% of events, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution.
