2018 USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams
2018 USTFCCCA Scholar Athletes of the Year & All-Academic Individuals (men's track & field)
2018 USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals (women's track & field)

NEW ORLEANS -- In a Thursday announcement by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Academy of Art University women's track & field made history with its first All-Academic Team honor while a record nine other Urban Knights also took home All-Academic Individual awards. Highlighting the individuals was 2018 Outdoor Track Scholar Athlete of the Year Gatien Airiau, who won the 3000m Steeplechase, and was previously named Google Cloud Academic All-American and PacWest Conference Men's Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year. With Airiau, the men's team featured hurdler Marlon Britton, sprinter Kaze Poitier, and distance runners Joshua Thorson, Rabah Houali, and Victor Moreau while the top representatives from the women's squad included sprinter/hurdler Marion Presigny plus distance runners Beatriz Martinez Mercado and Swann Phelippeau.

"Whenever you are a successful team on the track and you are also achieving academic accolades both as a team and individually, it shows that the program is heading in the right direction," said director of track & field/cross country Kevin LaSure. "The women were able to achieve this honor as a team after narrowly missing the mark last year and the men's team was as close as I've ever seen any program with a 2.999 team GPA. We're still not completely where we would like to be, but we are definitely a lot closer."

In order to make the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team list, a program must finish have collectively delivered a 3.00 cumulative team grade point average for the year. The academic success of nearly 20 women's track & field student-athletes was factored into a 3.08 GPA with eight of those individuals posting or contributing to times/distances that were NCAA provisional marks in either the indoor or outdoor seasons. There were a total of 213 teams honored by the USTFCCCA for their academics (132 women's, 84 men's).

To qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors individually, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have reached a provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships in either the indoor or outdoor seasons. A national champion in an individual event with the highest cumulative GPA is the winner of the Scholar Athlete of the Year award, provided they make the All-Academic standard.

Airiau's final season with Academy of Art saw him achieve All-American honors in both cross country and track & field while working toward a cumulative GPA of 3.58 in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. In his track & field season, Airiau, who earns his second consecutive USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual honor, set the new program records in the 3000m steeplechase on multiple occasions before capturing PacWest titles in both that event as well as the 5000m. He went on to secure the 3000m steeplechase national championship, his first All-American honor on the track, doing so after a thrilling finish in which he fended off Chico State's Kyle Medina, the DII event leader entering Nationals.

A Google Cloud Academic All-American and PacWest Conference Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year like Airiau, Presigny concluded her brilliant career with a total of three All-American honors in addition to her cumulative GPA of 3.84 in Academy of Art's School of Fashion Journalism. This year, she added her 10th USTFCCCA All-Region and fourth All-PacWest selections before ending as an All-American in the 100mH at Nationals. She finishes as the ART U record-holder in the pentathlon and among the program's top five in nine other events.

One of Academy of Art's four repeat All-Academic individuals, Britton turned in a cumulative GPA of 3.30 in the School of Music Production & Sound Design while serving on the Knights' All-American 4x400m relay. Britton offered the opening leg of a relay squad that went 40.60 for fifth place in the final at Outdoor Nationals and also finished as this year's PacWest Champion in the 110m hurdles, a title he secured with a NCAA provisional 14.48 at the conference championships.

Another of ART U's four repeat All-Academic individuals, Martinez Mercado finished her collegiate career with a 3.50 cumulative GPA in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. The Chandler, Ariz. native was an All-American as part of the Distance Medley Relay, setting multiple program records including their 11:39.18 mark on Feb. 25 at the Boston Last Chance Meet. She was also a NCAA provisional qualifier in both the indoor and outdoor 800m, going out as the program's record-holder in both, plus the indoor 4x400m and outdoor 1500m.

Thorson, a 2016 All-American for Academy of Art cross country, put together a cumulative GPA of 3.28 in the School of Industrial Design while having success on the track. His highlights included a 10,000m school record at the SF State Distance Carnival in late March, a NCAA provisional 14:28.44 in the 5000m at the Cardinal Classic on Apr. 20, and the 10,000m PacWest title on Apr. 28.

After earning PacWest Newcomer of the Year in her first cross country season at ART U, Phelippeau carried that momentum into track season while completing a 3.60 cumulative GPA in the School of Fashion Design. An All-American in the Distance Medley Relay along with Martinez Mercado, Phelippeau also qualified to compete in the indoor 3000m after a program record 9:44.48 at the UW Open on Feb. 11.

Poitier offered a cumulative GPA of 3.29 in the School of Web Design & New Media while serving as a leg of the Knights' NCAA provisional qualifying 4x400m relay team during the indoor season. He joined with Michael Houston, Christian Carter, and Mobolade Ajomale in posting the seventh-fastest time (3:12.42) in Division II during the regular season.

After the completion of the 2018 track & field season, Houali's name was at the top the program's all-time records list in both indoor and outdoor 800m while his sparkling 3.46 cumulative GPA came in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. His top marks were a 1:51.56 in the indoor 800m at the Boston Last Chance Meet, a 1:51.10 in the outdoor 800m at the Sacramento State Open, a 3:49.23 in the outdoor 1500m at that same Sac State meet, and contribution to the program record 9:50.74 in the Distance Medley Relay at the Hillsdale Wide Track Classic (all NCAA provisionals).

Also having success in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, Moreau was part of three different NCAA provisional qualifications while working to a 3.55 cumulative GPA in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. Over indoor, Moreau's 4:07.44 in the Mile at the Boston Last Chance Meet had him second on the program's all-time list while he joined Houali as part of the record 9:50.74 in the Distance Medley Relay at the Hillsdale Wide Track Classic. Shifting to outdoor, Moreau got himself among the country's top 40 in the 1500m with a 3:50.82 at the Oxy Invitational.

Airiau, Britton, Thorson, Poitier, Houali, and Moreau were among the 308 Division II men to earn the honor while Presigny, Martinez Mercado, and Phelippeau were part of the 405 women awarded this distinguished USTFCCCA All-Academic honor for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments.