Four Huskers Named to Academic All-District Squad

Lincoln, Neb. ? Four Nebraska track and field student-athletes were recognized for their success on the track as well as in the classroom by being named to the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-District VII Track & Field/Cross Country Team on Thursday.

 

Seniors Dana Carne and Danny Hill represented the men’s team, while Ann Gaffigan and Tia DeSoto were honored from the women’s team. The four Huskers outnumbered all other universities in the district, with the closest being Missouri with three honorees.

 

Carne, an Omaha, Neb., native, finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships and 12th in the 1,500 meters last month in Norman, Okla. The Omaha North graduate has been named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team in 2002 and 2003 and is a five-time honoree on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He served as the Vice-President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board in 2003-04, and was a member of the NU Mortar Board from 2002 to 2004. Carne graduated in May with a 3.958 grade-point average in biological sciences.

 

Hill, an Omaha Westside graduate, wrapped up his NU career last weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional in College Station, Texas, where he finished seventh in the 400-meter hurdles with a career-best time of 51.55 and ran on the fourth-place 4x400-meter relay team. Hill earned 33.25 career points in Big 12 meets throughout his career and won bronze in the 400 hurdles at the 2004 Big 12 Outdoor Championships. He also ran as a leg on the Husker 1,600-meter relay that won silver both indoors and outdoors at the 2004 conference meets and qualified for the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships, where they finished ninth. Hill made the Academic All-Big 12 First Team from 2002 to 2004 and was a nine-time honoree on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll. Hill holds a 3.794 GPA in finance.

 

Gaffigan was named the 2004 Nebraska Student-Athlete of the Year after a stellar year on the track as well as in cross country. The Springfield, Ill., native won the 2004 Big 12 Championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a school record time of 10:17.92. She also won the NCAA Midwest Regional to automatically qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships next week. In the classroom, Gaffigan has been named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team from 2001-03 and was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s honor roll for nine semesters. She has been named a Cross Country Association Academic All-American from 2001 to 2003 and served as a track and field team captain in 2003-04. Gaffigan graduated in May, boasting an impressive 3.856 GPA in computer science with a minor in mathematics.

 

DeSoto has made a name for herself in the throws, finishing fifth in the weight throw at the 2004 Big 12 Indoor Championships and sixth in the hammer throw at the outdoor conference meet. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native finished 13th in the 2004 NCAA Midwest Regional in the hammer. In the classroom, DeSoto holds a perfect 4.0 GPA in anthropology and was named an NCAA Track Coaches Association Academic All-American in 2003. She has been named to the Big 12 Commissioners honor roll from 2002 to 2004 and was named the Pepsi Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2002 at Santa Rosa Junior College.

 

The four NU student-athletes will now be put on the national CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. The men’s CoSIDA Academic All-America team will be released on June 22, and the women’s team will be released on June 24.

 

Twenty-five Huskers, including Gaffigan, will travel to Austin, Texas, to compete in the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships June 9-12, to wrap up Nebraska’s track and field season.