June 6, 2012

IRVING, Texas - Senior Dennis Aliotta and sophomore Kathryn Warner have been named to the 2012 Conference USA Track and Field All-Academic Team, according to announcement Wednesday by the league. The selections mark not only the first of their careers, but also the program's initial honorees.

Due to ties, there were 12 men and 12 women, instead of the usual 11, voted onto the teams by the league's track and field sports information directors.

Aliotta owns a cumulative 3.417 GPA as a sports studies major, is a member of East Carolina's Honor Roll and earned United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Academic All-America status during the 2010-11 school year.

The Staten Island, N.Y., native was awarded the Performance of the Meet at the 2012 Conference USA Outdoor Championships after he recorded a league championship record and gold medal performance in the shot put with a toss of 19.39 meters. Overall, he won six gold medals in the hammer throw and shot put during the 2012 indoor and outdoor seasons.

Aliotta finished fourth in the shot put at the NCAA East Preliminary to earn a berth in this week's NCAA Outdoor Championships at Drake Stadium. He will compete Saturday, June 9, beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Warner leads the women's squad with a 3.806 GPA in marketing. She has landed on two league Commissioner's Honor Rolls and one ECU Chancellor's List. Warner took second place in the pole vault at the 2012 C-USA Outdoor Championships after capturing the bronze at the league indoor meet, when the Pirates won their first Conference USA team title (indoor or outdoor). Warner currently holds the second-highest marks in program history for the indoor (3.76m) and outdoor (3.80m) pole vault events.

2011-12 CONFERENCE USA MEN'S TRACK & FIELD ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Name School Cl. GPA Major Hometown
Dennis Aliotta East Carolina Sr. 3.417 Sports Studies Staten Island, N.Y.
John Fortune * Houston Jr. 3.73 Chemistry Cleveland, Texas
Gabriel Cuadra * Rice Sr. 3.74 Mathematical Economic Analysis Friendswood, Texas
Jordan Hmaidan Rice Sr. 3.65 Economics Houston, Texas
Daniel Sloat ** Rice Sr. 4.11 Civil and Environmental Engineering Sammamish, Wash.
Alexander Zinchenko * Rice Sr. 3.61 Political Science Lisbon, Portugal
Richard Collingwood * Southern Miss Jr. 3.92 Accounting Port of Spain, Trinidad
Robert Collingwood * Southern Miss Jr. 3.68 Accounting Port of Spain, Trinidad
Michael Mainguy ** Tulane Sr. 3.89 Neuroscience Brookline, Mass.
Bill Martin * Tulsa Sr. 3.94 Biochemistry Overland Park, Kan.
Carl Stones ** Tulsa Sr. 3.80 Exercise and Sports Science Round Rock, Texas
Richard Olsson UTEP So. 4.00 Multidisciplinary Studies Karlstad, Sweden

2011-12 CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Name School Cl. GPA Major Hometown
Kathryn Warner East Carolina So. 3.806 Marketing Batavia, Ill.
Megan Frausto Houston Jr. 3.91 Kinesiology Royse City, Texas
Cyarra Wells Memphis So. 3.70 Accounting Louisville, Ky.
Sophie Peeters * Rice Sr. 4.071 Psychology, Kinesiology, Houston, Texas
Biochemistry and Cell Biology Allison Pye *** Rice Sr. 3.97 Kinesiology Houston, Texas
Becky Wade * Rice Sr. 4.02 Sociology, Psychology, History Dallas, Texas
Ayla Gill SMU Sr. 3.893 Accounting Auckland, New Zealand
Stephanie Ledgerwood* Southern Miss Jr. 3.93 Forensic Science Yuma, Ariz.
Petra Visic Southern Miss Jr. 3.96 Bio-Chemistry Split, Croatia
Kristina Vaughn ** UAB Sr 4.00 Biology Madison, Ala.
Janice Jackson UTEP So. 3.88 Multidisciplinary Studies St. Catherine, Jamaica
Marine Menez UTEP Sr. 3.87 Multidisciplinary Studies Lesquin, France

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