Completed Event: Track and Field at SEC Indoor Championship on February 26, 2026 , , (M) 8th; (W) 13th
Final
Track and Field
at SEC Indoor Championship
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Backel, Heuser Academic All-Americans
June 25, 2008 | Track and Field
June 25, 2008
NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma track and field student-athletes Amy Backel and Chip Heuser were named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Cross Country/Track & Field Teams Wednesday. The two were selected as third team Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
A civil engineering major with a 4.0 grade point average, Backel completed her sophomore year of eligibility with a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships where she became the program's first ever All-American in the women's javelin. The Dillsburg, Pa., native used the 2008 season to transition into a full-time thrower after beginning her career as a multi-event athlete and will now compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the javelin.
While Heuser's eligibility was exhausted following the 2008 season, the Louisvlle, Ky., native and zoology major did not leave Oklahoma without making a mark on the program. The four-time All-American in the pole vault suffered a major head injury prior to the beginning of the season, but bounced back with a third-place finish in the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, picking up his sixth All-Big 12 Conference honor in the process.
To be eligible for the Academic All-America team, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
Backel is a member of an eight-athlete group heading to Eugene, Ore., this weekend for the beginning of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, June 27-July 6. A full Oklahoma preview will be released Thursday.
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