THE FLATS – Daniel Pietsch, Preston Smith, Nahom Solomon, Anna Hightower, Amy Ruiz and Jeanine Williams were all named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. Both the men’s and women’s teams were awarded all-academic team honors for the 2017-18 NCAA Division I indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.
To earn USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division-I Championships, including preliminary rounds or for the indoor season finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48.
A senior mechanical engineering major, Pietsch, was an all-ACC selection in the 400m. He finished sixth at the ACC Championships in May. He also qualified for the NCAA East Prelims in the 400m. Pietsch earned academic all-ACC honors for the 2018 indoor and outdoor seasons.
Smith, a senior business administration major, earned all-ACC recognition in the triple jump. He finished just shy of the podium at the ACC Championships with a fourth-place finish. Smith was a regional qualifier in the triple jump. Smith was also named to the all-ACC academic team.
Solomon adds his fifth academic honor of his senior campaign. An academic All-American and all-district selection, the computer engineering major was also tabbed to the indoor and outdoor all-ACC academic teams. During the outdoor season, Solomon set the school record in the 5k and 10k. He qualified for the NCAA East prelim in the 10k where he registered the eighth-best all-time performance to punch his ticket to Nationals. At Nationals, he finished in the top-20 and No. 19 overall. Solomon will return to The Flats as a graduate student for his final indoor track and field season.
An electrical engineering major, Ruiz joins the list of Yellow Jackets who received recognition. The junior qualified for the NCAA East Prelims in the 1500m after placing third at the Tiger Track Classic earlier in the season. Ruiz also grabbed a 13th place finish in the 1500m at the ACC Outdoor Championships in May.
Hightower, a business administration major finished an impressive junior campaign as she ranked 53rd overall nationally in the pole vault. Her career-best mark in the event came at the 2018 ACC Indoor Championships where she finished eighth.
Already one of the most decorated hurdlers in Tech history, Williams adds another accolade. The biology major was the 2018 ACC Champion in the 100m hurdles in May. She qualified for Nationals in the event, earning all-America honors and finishing 15th overall. She also earned all-ACC academic honors for the 2018 indoor and outdoor seasons.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GT_TrackNField), Facebook (Georgia Tech Track & Field/Cross Country) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
