Diebold, Sutej named Academic All-Americans

FAYETTEVILLE – Razorback teammates Tara Diebold and Tina Sutej were named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division I Track & Field/Cross Country Team, as announced Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Diebold, a first-team selection, earned her third career Academic All-America honor while Sutej, a member of the second team, was recognized for the first time.

In addition to this year’s selection, Diebold was previously named a CoSIDA Academic All-America performer in 2009 and 2011. In each of those seasons, she also garnered Academic All-District accolades. She is a past member of the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll and USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. Diebold carries a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average as a communications disorder major.

There are six seniors, seven juniors and a pair of graduate students on the Capital One Academic All-America First Team. Seven of the 15 scholar-athletes on the team, including Diebold, have a perfect 4.00 GPA. The 15-member first team carries a 3.91 GPA average.

Diebold earned the fourth All-America honor of her athletic career following the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships and was the runner-up at the SEC Indoor meet with a personal-best clearance of 4.37m/14-4. She was an NCAA West Preliminary qualifier with a mark of 4.15m/13-7.25, the No. 4 clearance in the conference.

In the classroom, Sutej posted a 3.438 grade-point average as a biology major. She is also a past selection to the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll. In March, Sutej was named the 2012 SEC Field Athlete of the Year for the indoor season.

The Ljubljana, Slovenia, native closed out her Razorback career with a sixth-place finish at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She is the two-time defending NCAA indoor champion in the pole vault with wins in 2011 and 2012. At the SEC Indoor Championships in February, Sutej improved upon her own collegiate record with a clearance of 4.55m/14-11. During her senior season, she won 10 of 12 competitions.

To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at her current institution and be nominated by her sports information director. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Division I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

Overall, there were five women from the SEC to garner Academic All-America honors. For more information regarding Razorback track and field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.