Feb. 27, 2013
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Three members of the Georgia Tech cross country team were named to the ACC All-Academic team as announced by the league Wednesday. Junior Alec Clifford, senior Mary Kate DuBard and sophomore Katie Townsend were selected along with 63 additional student-athletes from around the conference.
DuBard earned the award for the fourth time in her career. It marks the second of Clifford’s career and the first for Townsend.
To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his or her academic career.
The 2012 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s cross country is Jakub Zivec of Florida State. Duke’s Juliet Bottorff was selected as the 2012 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s cross country.
DuBard graduated in December with a degree in industrial engineering. She maintained a 3.0 during the season and graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.33.
During the season, the Rock Hill, S.C. native, finished seventh in the UGA Invitational with a 5K time of 17:36.88, which was the second overall time for Georgia Tech , and competed in both the ACC Championships and NCAA South Regional, with 6K times of 21:59 and 21:45, respectively.
Clifford maintained a 4.0 in biomedical engineering throughout the 2012 season and currently owns a 3.84 cumulative GPA. The Acworth, Ga. native, led Georgia Tech to a first place finish at the Crimson Classic, crossing the line first for Tech and ninth out of 111 total runners in a time of 26:02. He also recorded a career-best 10K time of 32:00 at the NCAA South Regional.
Townsend posted a 3.5 GPA in her major of biomolecular and chemical engineering with an overall GPA of 3.84. A native of Augusta, Ga., Townsend finished first for Georgia Tech in all six meets and placed seventh overall with a career-best 5K time of 17:30 at the UGA Invite. She recorded a career-best 6K time of 21:37 at the NCAA South Regional, which topped her time of 21:58 at the ACC Championships.
