IRVING, Texas (May 27, 2016) – FIU senior
Tiffani Hernandez and graduate student
Luka Mustafic have been named to the 2016 Conference USA Track & Field All-Academic Team the league announced on Friday.
This marks the first C-USA All-Academic Team honor for Hernandez and second-straight for Mustafic.
Hernandez is a two time C-USA Academic Medal winners (2014-15 and 2015-16) and was named to the C-USA Honor Roll during the 2013-14. The native of Hamilton, Ontario, took the gold in the javelin with a mark of 43.91 meters during the C-USA Outdoor Championships. Hernandez registered a then-season-best mark in the Javelin of 42.78 meters for a fourth-place finish at the Miami Hurricane Twilight Invitational (3/25). She also had a first-place finish with a throw of 42.32 meters at the Cal State LA Twilight Open (4/14). Hernandez earned a 3.91 in criminal justice.
Mustafic, who was named to the C-USA Honor Roll in 2014-15 and was awarded the 2015-16 C-USA Academic Medal, garnered at 3.67 in international business. Mustafic notched top-five finishes five times, including the gold medal in the shot put during the GVSU Big Meet with a throw of 16.72 meters and placing first in the shot put during the Clemson Orange & Purple Classic (17.13 meters). The native of Rakitje, Croatia, took the silver in the shot put (17.06 meters) during the 2016 C-USA Indoor Championships. He placed third in the shot put (16.64 meters) during the Miami Hurricane Twilight Invitational, while setting a PR in the discus with a mark of 42.89 meters.
2016 Conference USA Women's Track & Field All-Academic Team
Taylor Carcella, R-Sr. – Charlotte | 3.40 – Chemistry and Biology
Kristen Williams, So. – Charlotte | 3.86 – Exercise Science
Victoria Merriweather, Jr. – Charlotte | 3.252 – Sociology and Journalism minor
Tiffani Hernandez, Sr. – FIU | 3.91 – Criminal Justice
Alexandra Phares, Sr. – Marshall | 4.00 – Geography
Atarah Abdullah-Muhammad, Jr. – Middle Tennessee | 3.862 – English
Qetuwrah Abdullah-Muhammad, So. – Middle Tennessee | 3.724 – Nursing
Agnes Abu, Jr. – Middle Tennessee | 3.60 – Community and Public Health
Susie Kemper, Sr. – North Texas | 3.96 – English
Daisy Ding, Jr. – Rice | 3.47 – Material Sciences & Nano-engineering and Economics
Belle MacFarlane, Sr. – Rice | 3.99 – Kinesiology and Psychology
Cali Roper, Jr. – Rice | 3.76 – Sports Management
Elsa Racasan, So. – Rice | 4.09 – Kinesiology
Dana Dillistone, Jr. – Southern Miss | 4.0 – Biochemistry
Lucy Crookes, Sr. – UAB | 4.0 – Communication Management
Fayon Gonzales, Jr. – UTEP | 3.66 – Kinesiology
Sandra Akachukwu, Jr. – WKU | 3.84 – Exercise Science (Pre-Physical Therapy)
2016 Conference USA Men's Track & Field All-Academic Team
Zack Greth, R-Sr. - Charlotte | 3.97 - Psychology and Sociology
Daniel Beamer, So. - Charlotte | 3.91 - Business
Luka Mustafic, Gr-Sr. - FIU | 3.67 - International Business (Master's Program)
Tom Stringer, R-Jr. - Louisiana Tech | 3.95 - Finance
Atsu Nyamadi, Sr. - Middle Tennessee | 3.276 - Liberal Studies
Connor Bey, Sr. - North Texas | 3.94 - Computer Science
Evan Karakolis, Sr. - Rice | 4.13 - Mechanical Engineering
Sven Zellner, Sr. - UTEP | 3.82 - Mechanical Engineering
Esteban Montanez, So. - UTEP | 3.83 - Electrical Engineering
Victor Perez, Jr. - UTSA | 3.50 - Electrical Engineering
Vincent Wyatt, Gr-Sr. - WKU | 3.66 - Graduate School
Fans are encouraged to follow the team on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUTrackXC) for all the latest FIU Track and Cross Country news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
