Hutchins Named Verizon T&F First Team District All-Academic

Redshirt sophomore Darren Hutchins was named to the 2003 Verizon Track and Field District All-Academic first team today. Hutchins will advance to the national ballot following his first team selection. It marks the second year for Hutchins to earn first team honors. Last year, he was named to the third team national All-Academic list for track and field.

Alaina Dearman, Austin Landreth and Aldwyn Sappleton were named to the district VI second team. For Sappleton, it marked the second year to be named to the second team while Dearman and Landreth were first time selections.

To be nominated for the team, student-athletes must have a minimum of a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing and participate in a majority of the meets during the season. Student-athletes are nominated by members of the College Sports Information Director of America and CoSIDA members vote on the district teams.

Hutchins, a math major from Choctaw, has a 3.88 grade point average. He is a two-time selection to the Big 12 All-Academic cross country first team and has been named to the first team conference All-Academic track and field team two times as well.

Hutchins finished 10th in the 10,000-meter run at the Big 12 Outdoor meet two weeks ago. Earlier this season he posted a career best in the 10,000 with a 31:31.83 at the Penn Relays. That time lowered his previous career best by more than a minute.

Hutchins also competes in cross country for the Sooners and ran in all six meets last fall. He finished in the top three for the Sooners in every meet and posted career best marks in five of six races. He showed dramatic improvement throughout the season, going from a 142nd place finish in the regional meet as a freshman to a 49th place finish last November as a junior. He was one of three Sooners who finished in the top 50 at the regional, helping OU to its best regional finish in six years.

Hutchins represents the track and field team as a representative to the Student Athlete Advisory Board. He received the Jay Myers Award, given annually to the OU freshman student-athlete who best combines academic performance and athletic potential, in 2001.

Dearman, who concluded her Sooner career two weeks ago at the Big 12 Championships, has been accepted by the physicians' assistant school at Howard University. She finished seventh in the 1000 at the Big 12 Indoor and ran on OU's seventh place distance medley relay. She had the 19th best time in the prelims at the Big 12 Outdoor in the 1500 and the 20th best time in the prelims of the 800. Dearman, who is from Dallas, Texas, established career bests in the 800 and 1500 during the outdoor season and ran the second leg of OU's distance medley relay that won its division at the 2003 Penn Relays. She ran in three of OU's five cross country meets and established a career best in one. A zoology major, she had a 3.33 grade point average. She is a three-time selection to the Big 12 All-Academic first team for cross country and track and field. She was named to the 2000 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award second team.

Landreth, a sophomore from Elk City, is a construction science major and has a 3.41 grade point average. He qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the pole vault last June, the only true freshman to make the field. He finished third in the pole vault at the 2003 Big 12 Outdoor and is competing this weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet. He is ranked fourth in the region entering the meet. He was named to the 2003 Big 12 All-Academic first team and was honored last year as a National Collegiate Coaches Division All-America Scholar Athlete team.

Sappleton, who finished second in the 800 at the 2003 Big 12 Outdoor meet, is a two-time NCAA All-American as a member of OU's outdoor 1600-meter relay. He won the 2002 Big 12 Indoor title in the 600 and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 800 in March 2003. He is ranked third in the 800 entering the regional competition this weekend and also runs the anchor leg of OU's 1600-meter relay which qualified for the regional meet in Lincoln, Neb. He owns the indoor 800 school record and his time at the 2003 outdoor conference meet in the 800 was the sixth best all-time in school history. He was named to the 2003 and 2003 Big 12 All-Academic first team and was honored last year as a National Collegiate Coaches Division All-America Scholar Athlete team. Sappleton, who is from Clarendon, Jamaica, has a 3.58 grade point average in international business.

Sappleton and Landreth will compete in the inaugural NCAA Midwest Regional meet this weekend in Lincoln. A top five finish in their individual events and a top three finish in the relay will qualify them automatically to the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif., June 11-14. At-large entries will be announced on Monday.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Hutchins Named Verizon T&F First Team District All-Academic

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