University of North Carolina Athletics
Howard, Alowonle Earn Academic All-America Honors
June 23, 2017 | Track & Field, Academics
Two members of the North Carolina track and field program have earned Academic All-America honors, as announced Friday by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). Sarah Howard was selected for the women's first team and RJ Alowonle was picked for the men's third team. The honors recognize academic and athletic excellence – both student-athletes graduated in May and then competed in June at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Howard is the first to earn Academic All-America honors from the UNC women's track and field team since Georgia Kloss was named to the first team in 2007. Alowonle is the first from the men's team to earn Academic All-America honors since 1988, when Jim Farmer was named to the At-Large second team, prior to the start of teams specifically for track and field.
Howard is the only Atlantic Coast Conference student-athlete to make either the men's or women's first teams, and she is one of just three ACC women included among the first, second or third teams. Alowonle is one of three ACC student-athletes earning spots on the first, second or third men's teams.
Both Howard and Alowonle qualified for All-America consideration by earning Academic All-District honors earlier this spring. Howard earned the All-District honor four times during her UNC career.
Howard, from Dublin, Ga., graduated from UNC in May with a double major in biology and religion. She was selected as a Top 10 Scholar-Athlete, recognizing her grade point average as one of the 10 highest among graduating seniors. She went on to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and cap her career with second-team All-America honors in the shot put. She is a seven-time All-ACC Academic honoree and a Phi Beta Kappa honors society inductee.
“I give my compliments to Sarah,” UNC head coach Harlis Meaders said. “Getting first-team Academic All-America is sort of a cherry on top of the season. Sarah was a fantastic student for us, an excellent competitor and a team leader. It's no surprise that she would be selected for this based upon her academic performance throughout her career. She has been the ideal student-athlete for us. I'm very proud of Sarah and elated that she would be selected.”
Alowonle, from Cottage Grove, Minn., also graduated in May. He majored in business administration and represented the track and field team on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. A five-time ACC champion, he competed at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships in 400-meter hurdles.
“For RJ to be selected third-team Academic All-America from our program is quite an award,” Meaders said. “It has been quite awhile since someone has been selected among our student-athletes, but I think RJ has absolutely earned the right to be in that group. He has performed at the highest level for us in the classroom. He has been a role model team leader in pretty much every aspect of it, and I'm excited to see him receive this honor.”
Meaders also credited several members of the team's support staff: Academic Counselor Kym Orr; Assistant Coach Nicole Hudson, who serves as the team's academic liaison; and Assistant Coach Steve Rubin, who coaches the team's sprinters and hurdlers.
Of the 45 Academic All-America® Division I Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Team members, 26 have grade-point averages of 3.9 or higher, including nine who have a perfect 4.0 G.P.A.
Of the 46 Academic All-America® Division I Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Team members, 34 have grade-point averages of 3.9 or higher including 14 who have a perfect 4.0 G.P.A.
Players Mentioned
