July 15, 2009

OXFORD, Ohio - Pat Sovacool and Michael Veatch may have graduated from Miami, but the two are still raking in awards for their outstanding track season and academic achievements this past spring, adding to an already decorated senior campaign.

Both Sovacool (Lakewood, Ohio) and Veatch (Middletown, Ohio) were selected to the 2009 Men’s Division I All-Academic Track and Field Team by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Tuesday (July 14), marking the third career selection for Veatch, while Sovacool has landed on the squad all four years. The duo is two of only five Mid-American Conference athletes named to the team.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either the NCAA Division I Indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard or the NCAA Division I Outdoor regional or national qualifying standard in their respective event.

At the end of May, the pair of NCAA outdoor track MidEast Regional qualifiers each garnered All-MidEast Region accolades from the USTFCCCA, as well, with Sovacool doing so in the 5,000 meters for a second straight year and Veatch for the first time in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.

Sovacool, who graduated in May with a 3.57 GPA in zoology, collected multiple other academic honors in 2009 too, such as Academic All-MAC and CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine First-Team Academic All-District IV. Sovacool claimed third in both the 5,000m and 1,500m at the MAC Outdoor Championships and finished eighth at the MidEast Regional in the 5,000m, coming one place shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championships. He was also named Division I Male Athlete of the Year by the Ohio Cross Country Coaches Association after claiming 12th at this year’s NCAA Great Lakes Cross Country Regional and 65th at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Sovacool earned Academic All-MAC and USTFCCCA All-Academic Team accolades in cross country, as well, this past season.

After graduating from Miami, Sovacool qualified for the USA Track & Field National Championships in Eugene, Ore. and competed in the 1,500 meters on June 25, when he finished 38th in a time of 3:50.30.

Veatch departed Miami with a 3.50 GPA and a degree in physical education and, like Sovacool, was an Academic All-MAC recipient in outdoor track this past spring. He finished second in the 3,000m steeplechase at the MAC Outdoor Championships and eighth at the regional meet with a time of 8:57.11, fewer than six seconds away from qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

--MURedHawks.com--

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