Bennett Named a Capital One Academic All-American

June 28, 2013

NORMAN, Okla. -- Senior Jacy Bennett became OU's latest first-team Capital One Academic All-America, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), honoree on Thursday. For Bennett, it was the second consecutive year to earn the award as she was named to the third team in 2012.

The Academic All-America honor recognizes the nation's top-student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.

2013 Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-Americans

The Oklahoma track and field program has produced at least one CoSIDA Academic All-American in each of the past six years and a total of nine in that span. Bennett becomes the third consecutive member of the women's track and field team to earn back-to-back honors in the last six years. Amy Backel was a three-time honoree in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and Brittany Borman was a two-time honoree in 2011 and 2012.

Bennett graduated in May with a 4.0 GPA in supply chain management. She was one of eight repeat honorees on the 2013 team and one of seven on the 15-woman first team with a 4.0. The Sooner tied for fourth place in the women's pole vault at the 2012 Big 12 Indoor Championships and claimed ninth in the conference's 2012 outdoor meet.

Bennett's selection makes her the fourth Sooner student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors during the 2012-13 academic year. Gabe Ikard was a first-team honoree in football, Michelle Gascoigne earned second-team honors in softball and Rebecca Clark was a third-team honoree on the at-large list. This marks the eighth consecutive year for multiple Sooner student-athletes to earn Academic All-America honors, the longest string of consecutive years with multiple honorees in school history. Bennett's selection is the 16th for the Sooner men's and women's track and field/cross country program.

To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 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 18,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.