2019 USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals (men's track & field)
2019 USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals (women's track & field)

NEW ORLEANS -- In a Monday announcement by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Academy of Art University track & field had five Urban Knights earn All-Academic Individual awards. The men's team featured distance runners Victor Moreau and Rabah Houali plus sprinter Kaze Poitier and jumper Michane Ricketts while the women's squad was represented by sprinter Hava Turner.

"It is always great when our student-athletes are recognized for the exceptional work they do both on and off the track," said director of track & field/cross country Kevin LaSure. "At the end of the day, this is what it's all about. While they are chasing their athletic dreams, the ultimate goal is to graduate college and create a better life for themselves and their families while doing something they love."

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.

While becoming an All-American in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, Moreau delivered a 3.61 cumulative GPA in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. He provisionally qualified for Nationals in three events over the indoor season (Mile, 3000m, Distance Medley Relay), dropping a career-best 4:07.36 mile at the Pitt State Invitational then adding the fastest 3000m of his career (8:11.88) at the Grand Valley State Big Meet. It was in those two events that he would capture All-American honors, taking First Team in the 3000m and Second Team in the Mile at Indoor Nationals.

Moreau's outdoor campaign featured two more impressive provisionals with a 3:46.65 for first place in the Mike Fanelli Track Classic 1500m and a lifetime-best 14:09.23 in the 5000m at the Bryan Clay Invite. Those performances came before Moreau finished his collegiate career as an All-American in the 1500m at Outdoor Nationals.

During the indoor months, Houali's season-best in the 800m paired with a strong 3.62 cumulative GPA in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. His top mark was a 1:52.47 in the 800m at the GVSU Mike Lints Alumni Open which provisionally qualified him for Indoor Nationals.

Ricketts, who tallied a 3.36 cumulative GPA School of Animation & Visual Effects, finished his collegiate career as an All-American. An alternate for the men's 4x100m at Outdoor Nationals, Ricketts teamed with Swinton, Mobolade Ajomale, and Carter in the final, helping the team earn sixth overall with a time of 41.40.

A repeat winner of the USTFCCCA Academic Individual award like Moreau, Houali, and Ricketts, Poitier also improved his cumulative GPA to a 3.4 in the School of Web Design & New Media while serving as a leg of the Knights' NCAA provisional qualifying 4x400m relay team during the outdoor season. He joined Christian Carter, Grant Swinton, and Roshard Williams in posting a top-20 mark in NCAA Division II (3:11.36) at the Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi. By the season's end, the time would serve as fourth in program history.

In her debut seasons after redshirting last year, Turner proved to be a crucial contributor to the women's relays during ART U's indoor and outdoor portions while adding to her 3.61 cumulative GPA in the School of Motion Pictures & Television. She teamed with Latavia Hawkins, Mia Avila, and Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye for an Indoor Nationals provisional 3:47.84 at the Boston University Last Chance Qualifier then appeared on all three of the Urban Knights' 4x100m Outdoor Nationals provisional marks, leading with a 45.80 alongside Selena Arjona-Alcazar, Minkue Meye, and Darria Matthias from the Oxy Invitational. At Outdoor Nationals, Turner would go on to become a Second Team All-American in the event.

Moreau, Houali, Poitier, and Ricketts were among the 312 Division II men to earn the honor while Turner was one of the 448 women awarded this distinguished USTFCCCA All-Academic honor for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments.