NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Allegheny College women's track and field team, as well as six Gator student-athletes, have been honored by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for academic achievement during the 2017 season.
 
Head coach Justin Linzy's Allegheny women's track and field team was named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, while standouts Dan Cheung, Tori Valachovic, Monica Patrick, Natasha Brigham, Sarah Hevener, and S.J. Guillaume each earned All-Academic honors from the association.
 
In order to qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, the student athlete must hold a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and must have either competed at the NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championships, or finish the regular season ranked in the top-35 nationally in an individual event, or top-25 as a member of a relay team.
 
Cheung graduated as one of the top distance runners in the history of the Gator program.  After earning All-America honors at the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championship, Cheung won the North Coast Athletic Conference indoor title in the 5,000 meter run, and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championship in the event, where he placed ninth.  In the outdoor campaign, Cheung brok a 10-year old school record in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 29:53.78 at the Bucknell Bison Classic, the fifth-fastest time in the event by a Division III runner this season.  Cheung would go on to place first in the event at the NCAC Outdoor Championships, and qualify for the NCAA Championships for the second straight season.  Cheung, who was awarded a prestigious Fullbright Grant in April, went on to be named the seventh Gator track and field athlete to be named Academic All-America by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
 
Valachovic turned in one of the strongest freshmen seasons in team history during the 2017 campaign.  At the NCAC Indoor Championships, she placed second in the 60 meter hurdles, fourth in the 400 meter dash finals, and seventh in the 200 meter dash finals, while she was also a member of the Gators' NCAC-championship-winning 4x400 relay squad. During the outdoor season, Valachovic won the NCAC title in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.75, the second-best time in program history, and the fastest in 19 seasons.  She also placed fifth at the NCAC Championships in the 100 meter hurdles, while she was a part of the team's 4x400 and 4x100 relay squads that placed third and fifth, respectively, at the NCAC meet.
 
Patrick finished her career with a strong senior campaign.  At the NCAC Indoor Championships, she earned All-NCC accolades in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:26.05, while she would also place fifth at the meet in the 5,000.  Her top effort of the outdoor campaign came at the Bucknell Bison Classic in April, when she ran of time of 36:37.77 in the 10,000 meter run, the 26th-best performance by a D-III athlete on the season, and the fifth-best time in program history in the event. 
 
Brigham graduated as one of the most heralded javelin throwers in team history, as she captured her second career NCAC title in the event after throwing a career-best 39.49 meters at the conference championships in May, the sixth-best effort in program history, while it ranked 35th among Division III athletes this season.  She placed fifth or better in five of six meets on the season, and ends her career as a three-time All-NCAC honoree in the javelin, as she won conference gold in 2015 before placing second in 2016.  
 
Hevener burst onto the scene with a stellar sophomore campaign for the team's heralded distance contingent.  At the Bucknell Bison Classic on Apr. 14, Hevener posted a time of 36:07.60 in the 10,000 meter run, the second-fastest time in program history and the 15th-best mark by a Division III athlete on the season.  After going on to win the NCAC title in the 10K by a margin of 46 seconds, she qualified for her first ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships, where she would place 13th.
 
Guillaume was another leader of the Gator distance crew during her senior season.  At the NCAC Indoor Championships, she won the conference title in the 3,000 meter run, before earning All-NCAC accolades in both the mile and 5,000 meter runs with third-place finishes in each race.  During the outdoor campaign, she posted a career-best time of 17:15.54 in the 5,000 meter run at the Hillsdale GINA Relays, the third-best performance in team history and 28th-best mark of the season in Division III, before going on to place third in the 1,500  and fourth in the 5,000 at the NCAC Outdoor Championships.
 
A total of 402 men and 608 women earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for the 2017 season. The Gators were one of just four NCAC teams to place student-athletes on both the USTFCCA men's and women's All-Academic list, and led all conference schools with a total of six selections.