NEW ORLEANS – The Elon University women's track and field team was honored as an All-Academic Team as announced recently by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). In addition, two athletes – Maria Ahm and Melissa Anastasakis – were recognized as All-Academic Athletes by the organization.
 
To be eligible for USATFCCCA All-Academic as a team you must maintain a composite cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, while an individual must have a GPA of 3.25 or better. The Phoenix as a team posted a team GPA of 3.513 for the 2020-21 academic year.
 
Coming off winning its third Colonial Athletic Association outdoor track and field championship in 2021, the Phoenix was recognized as an All-Academic Team under Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mark Elliston for the 13^th time out of the past 15 years.
 
Individually, Ahm and Anastasakis were recognized for their success both on the track and in the classroom. The duo earned their academic honors by competing at the NCAA East Preliminaries in their respective events. Ahm won the CAA 5,000-meters championship and broke the school-record in the 10,000-meters with a time of 33:43.82 this year before finishing 17^th at the NCAA East Regional meet in the 10,000-meters.
 
Anastasakis won her third straight 1,500-meter title at the CAA Championships before qualifying for the NCAA East Regionals in the race. The Hillsdale, Ontario, native set a school-record in the event at the NCAA East Prelims, clocking a time of 4:17.68 before finishing 19^th overall at the meet in the quarterfinal round.