Six members of the Sacramento State cross-country/track and field team were named to the United States Track and Field/Cross-Country Coaches Association all-academic team.

The six student-athletes include sophomore Ify Agwuenu, sophomore Ronald Brookins, junior Scott Grose, senior Morinsola Keshinro, junior David Rabinowitz and junior Ericka Violett. The six members of cross-country/track and field director Kathleen Raske’s team have also earned all-Big Sky Conference academic honors.

In order to be eligible for the award, student-athletes need to have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and qualify for the NCAA Division I regional meet in their respective event.

Brookins said that he was excited that he was excited to be recognized for all of his hard work in the classroom.

“Academics are really important to me I have always strived to get great grades since I have been in private school. My parents instilled it in me since I was a little kid to do good in school,” he said. “This means a lot to me because it means that sports still care about academics. It is not all performance based; they like well-rounded athletes also.”

Brookins advanced to the NCAA Track and Field Championships last season.

“Certainly it’s a great honor to have six cross-country student-athletes make the all-academic team. It shows their program values all-around excellence,” said USTFCCCA President Bob Braman.

All six winners said that time management played a major role in their success on and off the track.

Raske forces all freshmen to go to a mandatory study hall, but after their freshman year, they are not required to do so.

Several members of her squad said that they continue to attend study hall even when not obligated to do so because the study hall time is a great resource.

“Study hall did help me freshman year when it was required, but the thing is, a lot of people do not do this but I am a junior this year and I still go to study hall,” Agwuenu said. “I find it to be an advantage because being in study hall I can work with people and help people that are taking the same classes as I am, and I learn more when I teach.”

The six runners are happy that they are proving that maintaining good grades as well as performing well on the track is achievable if you manage your time well and stay focused.

Agwuenu admits she is not as organized as she should be, but she makes it a point to get all of her work done, even if that means she hardly gets any sleep or she does not get to hang out with friends.

While Agwuenu stays up late making sure all her work gets done, Grose takes a different approach. He said that he likes to get his work done as soon as possible to avoid having to rush. He does his homework as soon as he receives the assignment and he likes to work on big projects early.

Violett said keeping up with her athletic training and studies is routine, it is just what she has to do in order to succeed.

“It is a lot of work on both ends academically as well as athletically, but I think you just learn to manage your time good, and we have a lot of help from the support staff,” she said. “Honestly, otherwise I do not think I would be as organized, but I kind of have to be in this situation.”

Each of them may have a different way of managing school, sports and work, but they all said anything is possible if you have a plan and the drive and motivation to succeed.

Raske said that the coaching staff is proud to have six stand-up student-athletes represent the Sac State cross-country/track and field team.

“These athletes are proving that is possible to attain great grades while the demands of athletics are upon them, and they lead by example both in the classroom and on the track,” she said.

Poetiic Reid can be reached at [email protected]