Three members of the Emory University Track & Field teams, Lukas Mees, Julie Williamson and Daniel Pietsch, were recognized as Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-Americans as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the organization announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Mees was named to the First Team with Williamson and Pietsch earning spots on the second team. With his first team selection, Mees becomes just the seventh men's track & field/cross country student-athlete in Emory history to garner Academic All-America First Team honors.
Mees, now a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American after also earning Third Team kudos as a junior, closed out his Emory career by earning his first ever All-America certificate on the track at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships with an eighth place finish in the 3000m Steeplechase. The Marion, IA native is a two-time UAA Outdoor Champion in the event as well as the school record holder, shattering his previous mark with a time of 9:03.27 at the Dr. Keeler Invitational in May. During the indoor track season, Mees added All-UAA honors with a third place showing in the 5000m Run. As a member of the cross country team in the fall, Mees was a 2015 UAA First Team honoree as well being named the 2015 USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Athlete of the Year. A Psychology major nominated with a 3.92 grade-point average, Mees was selected as the UAA Athlete of the Week five times and has been an UAA All-Academic Team selection in the fall, winter and spring in each eligible season.
Williamson, the school's record holder in both the indoor (2:12.10) and outdoor (2:10.71) 800m Run, also earns the distinction of a two-time Academic All-American following her Third Team selection last season. Williamson rounded out her senior season by finishing 13th in the 800m Run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after she was ninth in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In her career, she was a six-time Outdoor All-UAA finalist and five-time Indoor All-UAA finisher and qualified for four NCAA Championships. The Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology major nominated with a 3.94 GPA added a UAA title as a freshman as part of the 4x400m Relay, was the UAA Track Athlete of the Week three times, a UAA All-Academic Team selection in all her eligible season and was a member of the cross country team all four years.
Pietsch earns Academic All-America honors in his first eligible season after wrapping up an impressive sophomore season with the Eagles. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Pietsch was crowned the 400m Dash national champion with a school record time of 46.92, becoming just the second outdoor national champion in Emory men's track & field history. This season, the Kula, HI native captured the 400m Dash title at the indoor and outdoor UAA Championships, added All-UAA finishes in the 4x400m Relay (indoor), 200m Dash (outdoor), 4x100m Relay (outdoor), 4x400m Relay (outdoor) and was named the USTFCCCA Regional Indoor Athlete of the Year. Pietsch, an Economics major nominated with a 3.39 GPA, was named the the 2015 indoor and outdoor UAA Rookie of the Year and was selected to the UAA All-Academic team in both the winter and spring this year.
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 selected to an Academic All-District team.
A total of 12 Emory student-athletes were selected as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans during the 2015-16 school year, bringing the total of Academic All-Americans in the history of Emory Athletics to 173, with 66 First Team honors.