Virginia Places Six on VaSID Academic All-State Team
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—Six Virginia student-athletes were named to the 2017-18 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Academic All-State team, as announced by the organization on Monday (July 30).
Kurt Benkert (Cape Coral, Fla.) and Micah Kiser (Baltimore, Md.) from football, Megan Reid (Orinda, Calif.) and Veronica Latsko (Venetia, Pa.) from women’s soccer, Katie Freix (Chantilly, Va.) from women’s track and field, and Corey Johnson (Ambler, Pa.) from women’s swimming and diving were among 217 student-athletes from 37 colleges and universities within the state earning the academic honor
Benkert recorded a 3.48 GPA with a master’s in higher education. He is UVA’s single-season record holder in five statistical categories, posting 3,207 passing yards, 298 completions, 509 attempts and 3,144 yards of total offense during the 2017 campaign. He also tied the UVA record for 200-plus yard passing games in a season, reaching the mark nine times. Benkert is the first player in Virginia history to throw for over 20 touchdowns in multiple seasons and throw for over 3,000 yards in a single season. He was named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America Team.
Kiser posted a 3.871 GPA while working towards a master’s degree in higher education. He won the 2017 Campbell Trophy, an award which has been called the “Academic Heisman,” that spans across NCAA I, II, III and all NAIA. Kiser is the first Cavalier to earn All-ACC Academic team honors and first-team All-ACC honors in the same season on three different occasions. He was named a first-team All-American by the Sporting News after leading the ACC with 145 tackles, in addition to ranking fourth nationally during the 2017 season and second all-time at UVA in the single-season statistical category. Kiser was named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 Team for his academic and athletic performance. Kiser earned his second-consecutive VaSID Academic All-State team honor.
Reid, with a 3.590 GPA, was named a 2017 United Soccer Coaches All-Region second-team honoree. The senior played in 1,824 minutes, second-most by a Cavalier this season, and started in all 21 of the team’s matches. She scored the golden goal at No. 2 West Virginia and aided the team topping Miami and Louisville with an assist on the game’s winning shot. Reid was named to the ACC Women’s Soccer All-Academic Team and was a 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.
Latsko graduated with a 3.513 GPA in foreign affairs and public policy. She posted five game-winning shots this season and tied as the 2017 team leader in goals with eight. She was the team’s leader in points adding four assists to the year. Latsko was named the ACC and National Player of the Week after recording a hat trick, along with two assists, at Pittsburgh. Her eight points against Pittsburg tied the UVA single-game record. Latsko was named to the ACC Women’s Soccer All-Academic Team and was a Thacker Award post-graduate scholarship recipient.
Freix graduated with a 3.926 GPA in mechanical engineering, earning her UVA’s Jettie Hill Memorial Award as the fourth-year female student-athlete with the highest scholastic average through her four years. Freix recorded a career-best performance of 4.01m (13’1.75″), becoming the third UVA pole vaulter to clear 13 feet and only the second to do so in outdoor competition. She posted an indoor personal-best mark of 3.95m (12’11.5″) at the 2017 ACC Championships, ranking fourth on UVA’s all-time indoor performance list. Freix was a 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.
Johnson graduated with a 3.505 GPA in kinesiology. She advanced to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in the platform, qualifying for the national meet for the second time of her career. At the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, Johnson finished third in the platform, scoring 479.25 points in the two-round competition. She posted a score of 254.1 in the platform finals at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships which ranks third in UVA history. She posted a top-10 finish at the Frank Elm Invitational in the 3-meter and platform dive. Johnson is a recipient of the ACC’s Waver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarship.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and be a sophomore or higher.
VaSID is comprised of sports information or athletics communications professionals from intercollegiate institutions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Membership is open to any individual affiliated with one of the state’s institutions at the NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, USCAA, NJCAA, community college and independent levels, provided that individual’s area of responsibility lies within the realm of sports information.