National  champion  Ackelia  Smith  has  been  unveiled  among  the  Academic  award  winners  by  the  the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The  Paris  Olympic  Games  bound  Smith  who  was  named the Outdoor Women’s Field scholar Athlete of the Year after sweeping the horizontal jumps at the NCAA  Outdoor Championships,  maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.37 during her junior season. 

This is the first time in   the  University  of  Texas  programme history that an athlete from  the  institution has been named national scholar field athlete of the year for the outdoor season.

To meet the criteria for Academic All-America, each athlete must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25, completed at least two semesters and finish in the top-48 of either the Indoor or outdoor season.

Smith  punched her ticket to the  2024  Olympics as the 2024 long jump national champion when she  topped  the  field  at  the  National  Championships  recently  with  an  effort  of  6.53  metres  achieved  on  her  third  attempt.

The standout 2024 NCAA long and Triple Jump champion  placed  second  in  the  Triple  jump  event  at  the  national  championships  at  14.44  metres.