Mihaljevic Named ACC Men's Outdoor Scholar Athlete of the Year
June 28, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- Virginia senior Filip Mihaljevic (Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina) has been named the 2017 ACC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year, the conference announced on Wednesday (June 28). Ten Cavaliers, including Mihaljevic, were named to the All-ACC Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Academic Teams.
Mihaljevic, an environmental studies major, is the second student-athlete in Virginia track and field history to earn Scholar Athlete of the Year, and the first in men’s program history to receive the honor.
Mihaljevic finished first in the shot put and discus at the NCAA Championships, leading the Cavaliers to a third-place finish. His national performance set a school record in both events, recording a mark of 21.30m (69-10.75) in the shot put and 63.76m (209-2) in the discus. Additionally, his shot put performance set an ACC record.
At the ACC Championships, Mihaljevic captured his 10th ACC gold medal (indoor and outdoor). He was the third student-athlete in ACC history to win four discus titles and the ninth student-athlete to earn four first-place finishes in a single event.
The senior was recognized as the 2017 ACC Outdoor Championships Men’s Field MVP, the 2017 ACC Men’s Outdoor Field Performer of the Year, 2017 USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Field Athlete of the Year and a 2017 Bowerman Semifinalist.
Ten Cavaliers were named to the All-ACC Academic Team. Senior Christine Bohan (Avon Lake, Ohio), junior Holly Sullivan (Chester Springs, Pa.) and sophomores Marija Bogavac (Mojkovac, Montenegro) and Kelly McKee (Lenexa, Kan.) were selected from the women’s team, while Mihaljevic, seniors Zach Herriott (Kansas City, Mo.) and Henry Wynne (Westport, Conn.), redshirt junior Jeff Jernigan (DeKalb, Ga.), redshirt sophomore Jack Lint (Westerville, Ohio) and sophomore Nace Plesko (Ljubljana Slovenia) were named from the men’s team.
Bohan and Lint represented the Cavaliers at the NCAA Championships. Bohan finished 11th in the nation, recording a mark of 16.59m (54-5.25). She earned second-team All-America honors in the event. Lint competed in the decathlon after finishing the regular season ranked 23rd in the event. He was named to the All-America honorable mentions team.
In the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, Bogavac finished 13th in the javelin (46.87m, 153-9), while McKee placed 21st in the triple jump (12.78m, 41-11.25) for the women’s team. On the men’s side, Herriott finished 15th in the 10,000m with a time of 30:13.95, while Plesko recorded a mark of 16.74m (54-11.25) in the shot put to finish 36th. In the pole vault, Jernigan finished 19th clearing a height of 5.15m (16-10.75). Wynne, battling a fever, competed in the 1500m finishing in 42nd place.
Sullivan finished fifth in the heptathlon at the ACC Championships with a score of 5,317.
The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were established in September of 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the awards must have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for their careers, as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.
All-ACC Academic Team
Marija Bogavac, Virginia So. Undeclared
Christine Bohan, Virginia Sr. Mechanical Engineering
Kelly McKee, Virginia So. Cognitive Science
Holly Sullivan, Virginia Jr. Speech Path and Audiology
Zach Herriott, Virginia Gr. Educational Psychology
Jeff Jernigan, Virginia Sr. Aerospace Engineering
Jack Lint, Virginia Jr. Computer Science
Filip Mihaljevic, Virginia Sr. Environmental Sciences
Nace Plesko, Virginia So. Computer Sciences
Henry Wynne, Virginia Sr. Economics