New Orleans, LA. – West Texas A&M Track & Field was highly represented in the annual United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) academic awards as announced by the organization Monday. The Lady Buffs captured Outdoor National Scholar Team of the Year after posting a 3.58 GPA while the Buffs were named an All-Academic Team with a 3.19 GPA.  Esther Conde-Turpin would be named Indoor and Outdoor Women's Field Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year. Blessing Akintoye earned Indoor Women's Track Scholar Athlete of the Year while Emiliia Tangara was named Outdoor Women's Track Scholar Athlete of the Year. Across both programs, 27 athletes would earn All-Academic Honors.
 
For a program to be named an All-Academic Team, the cumulative GPA for all student-athletes on the institution's NCAA Squad List for Indoor and/or Outdoor Track and Field must be 3.0 or higher, including the most recent grading period, certifiable by either NCAA Faculty Rep or NCAA Compliance Coordinator or Registrar's Office. 
 
For the Lady Buffs, this was the seventh straight year that they have been named a USTFCCA All-Academic Team and second time during that span (2022) that they were the Outdoor National Scholar Team of the Year. Posting a 3.58 cumulative GPA, the Lady Buffs were Outdoor National Champions this past season while finishing as the Runner-Up during the indoor season.
 
The Buffs strung together their fifth straight year as an All-Academic Team after tallying a 3.19 cumulative GPA. WT finished sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and eighth at the Outdoor National Championships.
 
Maintaining a 4.0 GPA, Esther Conde-Turpin would be named Indoor and Outdoor Co-Scholar Women's Athlete of the Year. During the indoor season, Conde-Turpin repeated as National Champion in the pentathlon behind a school record of 4,406 points. The outdoor season saw the Reunion Island, France native win her second National Championship on the year behind a 6,100 point showing in the heptathlon to take the title.
 
Blessing Akintoye would also hold a 4.0 GPA as she would be named Indoor Track Women's Scholar Athlete of the Year. She would capture a National Championship in the 400m behind a time of 52.87.
 
Emiliia Tangara was the final Lady Buff to earn a scholar athlete of the year award as she would be named Outdoor Track Women's Scholar Athlete of the Year. Tangara held a 4.0 GPA while taking the National Title in the 400H with a time of 56.56 and a second National Championship as part of the 4x400 relay team that tallied a time of 3:32.18.
 
For an individual to be named an All-Academic Athlete, they must have a cumulative GPA of a 3.25 or higher through the end of the semester of competition and have achieved one of the following athletic criteria: (1) finished the season among the top 50 individuals listed on the descending order lists on TFRRS, (2) participated at the Indoor OR Outdoor National Championships, (3) competed as a member of one of the top 35 relay teams as listed on the descending order list on TFRRS, (4) participated in a relay at the Indoor OR Outdoor National Championships or (5) competed as a member of a relay team on an expanded descending order list to include 35 institutions (1 relay team per institution).
 
The full list of WT athletes to be earn the All-Academic nod are as follows:
 
Lady Buffs (17)
Deborah Acheampong- Sports and Exercise Science
Blessing Akintoye- Health Science
Priscilla Anaglo- Agricultural Business and Economics
Mara Andritsch- Finance
Kailee Benton- Health Science
Kedan Burch- Business Marketing
Eliette Chaput- Marketing
Esther Conde-Turpin- Relational Dynamics and Engagement
Sierra Cornell- Health Science
Leidy Cuesta- General Studies
Hope Gray- Sports and Exercise Science
Asana Hamidu- Sports and Exercise Science
Helena Klutsey-Carboo- Health and Wellness
Julie Lafare- Sports and Exercise Science
Emiliia Tangara- Sports Psychology
Cassandra Uribe- Sports and Exercise Science
Kalkidan Vincendeau- Sports and Exercise Science
 
Buffs (10)
Isaac Botsio- Environmental Science
Branch Cox- Sports and Exercise Science
James Dadzie- Agribusiness
Mahmoud Ibrahim- Pre-Dentistry
Jerry Jakpa- Computer Information Systems
Nikolas Kosmopoulos- Business Finance
Adrian Legarreta- Health Science
Jace Lynch- Sports and Exercise Science
Oyeyoni Oyewale-Johnson- Graphic Design
Tobias Ritter- MBA
 
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