Orji named Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Bulldogs have a record-breaking 17 named All-Academic Individuals

ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia true freshman Keturah Orji has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Women's National Outdoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year to highlight a record-breaking number of Bulldogs honored.

Orji, a native of Mount Olive, N.J., posted a 3.96 GPA in her Communication Studies major. With an American Junior and school record triple jump leap of 46 feet, 5 ¼ inches, Orji won the NCAA outdoor title and moved into a share of the No. 4 spot on the all-time collegiate performers list. She was also seventh in the long jump to score for Georgia at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The Southeastern Conference swept the women's field event awards in 2015 as Arkansas' Sandi Morris was name the Indoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year. Orji is only the second SEC woman in history to earn one of the USTFCCCA outdoor Scholar Athlete of the Year awards (field or track) and the first from Georgia.

Scholar Athletes of the Year were selected as the highest-finishing performers at the NCAA Outdoor Championships who also achieved USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual status. Those who earned multiple individual championship titles ranked higher in the tie-breaking process, and cumulative GPA is weighed as the final tiebreaker to establish a winner.

Georgia also had a record-breaking 17 individuals earn USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual honors for the 2015 season. The men had 10 individuals named to the team, which ranked third nationally, after previously having a program high of seven in 2014. The Lady Bulldogs had seven earn honors this year after having six honored in 2010.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met the following athletic standards: a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).

For the men, Braydon Anderson, Luke Baker, Drew Branch, Caleb Ebbets, Charles Grethen, Alex Larsson, Brandon Lord, Kisean Smith, Maicel Uibo and Nick Vena were included in the 529 men honored from 165 institutions.

Quintunya Chapman, Asianna Covington, Leontia Kallenou, Morgann Leleux, Bret McDaniel, Orji and Jenna Wargo were part of the 838 women honored from 207 different schools across the country.