Both Georgia Track & Field Teams Named National Scholar Teams Of The Year Keturah Orji also honored as Scholar Athlete of the Year, 14 Dogs Earn Individual Accolades

Both Georgia Track & Field Teams Named National Scholar Teams Of The Year Keturah Orji also honored as Scholar Athlete of the Year, 14 Dogs Earn Individual Accolades

July 26, 2018 | Track & Field

Both Georgia Track & Field Teams Named National Scholar Teams Of The Year Keturah Orji also honored as Scholar Athlete of the Year, 14 Dogs Earn Individual Accolades

ATHENS, Ga. --- 'Firsts' continued for Georgia's track and field teams as they were both named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Scholar Team of the Year for either the 2018 indoor or outdoor season, marking the first time both squads have garnered the honor in the same year.

The Lady Bulldogs earned the national indoor honor for the second straight year after sweeping the award during both seasons in 2017. The Georgia men received the 2018 national outdoor honor, marking the first honor of its kind for the Bulldogs since 2014.

This marks only the second time in history that both genders from the same team were each named the Scholar Team of the Year in the same year.

In addition, recently graduated Keturah Orji earned the fourth USTFCCCA Scholar Athlete of the Year after completing her Financial Planning requirements with a 3.97 grade point average. The eight-time NCAA champion was also the award winner for the 2015 and 2017 outdoor seasons as well as the 2017 indoor campaign.

Fourteen Georgia men and women were also named USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals. The following women were represented: Jessica Drop, Samantha Drop, Mady Fagan, Louisa Grauvogel, Kate Hall, Tairyn Montgomery, Marie-Therese Obst, Orji, Amber Tanner. The following men were also selected: Johannes Erm, Jeramey Hampton, Bryan Kamau, Alex Larsson, Austin Sprague.

A national champion in an individual event with the highest cumulative GPA is the winner of the award, provided they make the All-Academic standard. Those who win multiple individual titles in a single championship are chosen over those who win one. If no individual champion has a cumulative GPA that reaches the All-Academic standard, those who were runner-up are considered next and so on.

The Scholar Team of the Year goes to the highest finishing team at the national championship that achieved All-Academic status.

The Lady Bulldogs posted a 3.36 GPA during the 2017-18 academic year. On the track, the Georgia women captured the program's first NCAA team title indoors thanks in part to two individual national champions and a historic 1-2-3 finish in the long jump. Outdoors, the Lady Bulldogs finished one point behind the NCAA champions to collect their second straight runner-up finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The Georgia men, who completed the spring semester with a cumulative GPA of 3.14, had their top NCAA indoor finish in the team's history after taking third as eight Bulldogs scored in nine events. The Bulldogs then secured their first national team championship at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Junior Denzel Comenentia finished as the meet's top scorer after winning both the hammer throw and the shot put.

Orji, a native of Mount Olive, N.J., wrapped up her final year in red and black by sweeping the Southeastern Conference indoor and outdoor triple jump titles and winning the triple jump at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. The 15-time First Team All-American who set American and collegiate records indoors in 2018 and a collegiate record outdoors was also named the USTFCCCA National Women's Field Athlete of the Year both indoors and outdoors.

Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack).