The
University of Florida men’s track & field team was named the
Scholar Team of the Year in Division I for the 2012 indoor and outdoor
seasons by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches
Association (USTFCCCA). The Gators earned the distinction as a result of
being the highest-placing teams with at least a 3.00-cumulative GPA at
the most recent NCAA indoor and outdoor championship, respectively.
Florida
swept NCAA Division I men’s track & field titles for the first time
in school history in 2012. The indoor national title was the Gators’
third-straight while the outdoor crown was the squad’s first ever.
Florida is the first to sweep Scholar Team of the Year honors since
Stanford in 2007. UF has a cumulative team GPA of 3.06. The Gator men
were one of three SEC teams to earn All-Academic distinction.
At
the indoor championships, the Gators scored 52 points and had three
event champions to top the field, besting SEC rival Arkansas’ 47 for the
team crown. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, UF managed 50 points for
the team title and beat out LSU in the final event, the 4x400-meter
relay, for the two-point victory over the Tigers.
Squad
members Tyler Cardillo, Hugh Graham, Jr., Mark Parrish and David
Triassi claimed All-Academic honors earlier in the week. Graham was the
second leg of the Gators’ 4x400-meter relay that won the national crown
and pushed the squad to the top of the team podium.
The Florida women also earned All-Academic distinction as a squad for the second-consecutive season, earning a cumulative team GPA of 3.16. The Gator women were one of seven SEC teams to earn All-Academic distinction. The University of Florida was one of just two Southeastern Conference institutions to receive All-Academic nods for both men’s and women’s programs, along with the University of South Carolina.
