June 3, 2010
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech senior distance runner Billy Mateker, junior sprinter Hunter Clasen and senior thrower Alana Clooten have been named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District II track and field first team, which was announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, junior pole vaulter Joanna Wright was named to the second-team.
Mateker, a native of Lawrenceville, Ga., recently completed his final season on The Flats as a member of both the cross country and track & field squads.
On the track during the indoor season, Mateker set new personal-bests in two events, the 1000m run (2:30.40) and the 3000m run (8:43.31). Mateker also captured the said 1000m run at the Tiger Paw Invitational.
The announcement to the All-District first-team marks the second-consecutive season that he has been honored for his work in the classroom by CoSIDA. As a Mechanical Engineering major at Tech, Mateker registered a 3.98 GPA during his academic career.
Clasen, a native of Tampa, Fla., garners a selection to the Academic All-District team for the first time in his career after posting a 3.96 GPA as an Earth and Atmospheric Science major.
On the track, Clasen finished 10th at the ACC Outdoor Championships in the 400m dash after crossing the finish line in 49.08. He also captured an event (the 500m dash) at the MTSU Invitational in December in a personal-best time of 1:03.77.
Clooten, a Fairbanks, Alaska native and graduate student, earns a spot on the Academic All-District team for the second-straight year after garnering second-team honors a season ago. Clooten finished up her academic career at Tech in August, graduating with a 3.67 GPA in Industrial Engineering and posted a 4.0 GPA as a graduate student.
On the track, Clooten captured the ACC Outdoor title in the hammer throw in April, beating out her nearest competitor by almost 12 feet. She was also a semi-finalist for the 2009 Wooden Citizenship Award and was a recipient of the 2010 ACC Post-Graduate Scholarship. Clooten served on GT’s student Advisory board for three years and completed a term as President during the 2009-10 academic campaign.
Wright, a Winston-Salem, N.C. native, garners a spot on the Academic All-District team for the first time. Wright, a biology major, has posted a 3.76 GPA in her career.
This season on the track was a banner one for Wright, who captured the ACC Indoor Title in the pole vault in February with a school indoor record best clearance of 13 feet, 9.75 inches. Wright also broke the outdoor school record in the event during the Clemson-Kennesaw State Tri-Dual meet with a mark of 13 feet, 5.25 inches.
Wright also just missed out on All-ACC honors at the Outdoor Championships in April with a fifth place finish and placed 15th in the event at last week’s NCAA East Preliminary Round in Greensboro, N.C.
