Sambu, Jones Earn Cross Country and Track & Field All-Academic Honors

CORPUS CHRISTI – Senior Julia Sambu and junior Melissa Jones have been named to the Southland Conference All-Academic Cross Country and Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field teams, the conference announced today. 

"It's a credit to these young ladies performances in the classroom as well as on the field," Director of Track and Field Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Shawn Flanagan said. "We are proud to have them represent the Islanders."  

Sambu, a nursing major with a 3.09 GPA, received an automatic selection onto the All-Academic Team for maintaining a GPA of at least a 3.0 in addition to earning first team All-Conference honors at the 2011 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships after she finished in the top 10. The senior helped lead the Islanders to a first-place finish at the cross country conference championships after she finished in fifth place with a 6k time of 21:53.3.  

The Eldoret, Kenya, native recorded a first-place finish at the UTPA Bronc Relays after pairing up with Kristine Burciaga. She followed that with an 11th place finished at the Rice Invite in the women's 4k with a time of 14:27. Sambu was the second Islander to cross the line at the Grass Routes Grand Prix and the Chile Pepper Festival in the 6k. 

Sambu wrapped her cross country senior season at the regional meet by leading the women's team to a 10th-place finish. 

During the outdoor track and field season, Sambu finished in sixth place at the Cactus Cup in the 1500m and clocked a season-best at the J. Fred Duckett Rice Twilight in the 1500m. 

Melissa Jones, a kinesiology major with a perfect 4.0 GPA, also helped the Islanders clinch a first-place finish at the 2011 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships. She also placed in the top 10 in the 5k at the Islander Splash.  

During the outdoor track season Jones finished third at Fred Duckett Classic with a season-best time and finished with a 10th-place finish at the conference championships.  

At the Islanders annual student-athlete banquet, Jones won the Lee Denmon III Islanders Award for her community service and classroom excellence. She was also named Islanders Cross Country Outstanding Team Member. She has been influential in the Islander Athlete Mentor Program, a second-year mentor, and is the leader of the program among the Islanders student-athletes. She is the President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and led volunteer efforts with the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk and the Halloween Carnival benefitting the Corpus Christi Boys and Girls Club along with the Toys for Tots toy drive. 

The all‐academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic/counselors from each Southland institution. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all‐academic squad. 

For the latest information, follow Islanders Cross Country on Twitter (@IslandersTFXC) and Facebook (Texas A&M Corpus Christi Track & Field/Cross Country).  

2012 Southland Conference Women's Track and Field and Cross Country All-Academic Team

^{^}2012 Student-Athlete of the Year
¹Automatic-Selection
²Two-time all-academic selection
³Three-time all-academic selection