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June 29, 2007
Greensboro – Twelve Virginia student-athletes were honored with inclusion on the 2007 All-ACC Academic Track and Field teams, as announced by the conference today. Six men and six women were honored, including National Junior Champion Stephanie Garcia and 2007 All-Americans Katie Read, Kara Scanlin, and Jan Foerster, school record holders Billie-Jo Grant and Kellen Blassingame, and Fulbright Scholar Andrew Dumm. In addition, Amy Bilmanis, Ayla Smith, Ryan Foster, Andrew Jesien and Taylor Smith were also honored.
Bilmanis (Hughesville, Md.) led the Cavaliers in the hammer throw and qualified for the NCAA regional in the discus. She moved into the school’s top-10 all-time in the weight throw.
Garcia (South Riding, Va.) won the 2007 US Junior National Championship in the steeplechase, running away from the field from the opening gun. A true first-year, she competed in the steeplechase for the first time in her career this season and already ranks third all-time in school history. She will represent the U.S. at the Junior Pan Am Games in July.
Grant (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) set the school record indoors in the shot put and qualified for the NCAA East Regional in both the discus and the shot put before an injury sidelined her for the outdoor season.
Read (Arlington, Va.) scored in both the 5K and the 10K at ACC meet before finishing 10th at the NCAA Championships in the 10K, earning All-American honors. Her NCAA run, a personal-best 33:54.92, ranks her fifth all-time in school history.
Scanlin (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) started out the 2006-2007 year earning All-American honors in cross country before earning third at the ACC Championships in both the 5K and 10K. She qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 10K.
Smith (Winchester, Va.) led the Cavaliers in the short hurdles outdoors and ranked second in both the short hurdles indoors and the intermediates. She qualified for the ECAC Championships in both hurdles outdoors and already ranks in the top ten all-time in school history in three hurdles events.
Blassingame (Silver Spring, Md.) led the Cavaliers in the 400m, running a 46.38, finishing sixth in the NCAA East Regional. The school-record holder just missed a berth to the national meet.
Dumm (Fairfax, Va.) was named a Fulbright Scholar for the 2007-08 academic year. He earned All-ACC honors in the 10K with his third-place finish. Earlier in the season he became just the second person in school history to run below 29 minutes in the 10K and qualified for the NCAA meet. Dumm also led the Cavaliers indoors in the 5K.
Foerster (Berlin, Germany) set the school record in the steeplechase, earning All-American honors with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA meet. He won the ACC title in the 5K and was the runner-up in the steeple at the conference meet.
Foster (Stephens City, Va.) scored in both the 5K and the 10K in the ACC meet, qualifying for the IC4A meet in the process. Foster already ranks in the top-10 at Virginia in both events.
Jesien (Bethesda, Md.) earned All-American honors in the DMR at the NCAA Championships in March, the first such honor of his career. He qualified for the NCAA East Regional in the spring after finishing third at the Lou Onesty Invitational in a time that moved him into the top-10 all-time at Virginia.
Smith (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) scored in the 10K at ACCs after qualifying for the IC4A meet at the Wake Forest Open. He also qualified for the IC4A meet in the 5K with his run at Duke.