University of Houston Athletics
Brian Barraza Named Academic All-American
6/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
AUSTIN â€" University of Houston senior distance runner Brian Barraza has been named CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team for his excellence on the track and in the classroom, the organization announced Friday.
"It is a tremendous honor for Brian to be named an Academic All-American to go along with the athletic All-America honor he received at indoors this season," Head Coach Leroy Burrell said. "He is truly one of the great all-time distance runners in the history of our program, and more importantly, he is one of the finest people you will ever meet."
Barraza was named to the All-America Team for the first time in his career and joins 11 athletes making their first appearance on the list. During his tenure at Houston, Barraza earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.77 as a kinesiology major and has achieved one of the most successful distance running careers in Cougar history.
Barraza becomes just the second Cougar track student-athlete to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors after Jolanda Jones was named to the team in 1987 and 1989. In Houston's history, 12 student-athletes have received 14 honors since 1964.
"Brian embodies what it means to be a student-athlete, excelling to the highest level in both domains," Head Cross Country Coach Steve Magness said. "It's a testament to the hard work and dedication that he puts in both on and off the track."
Competing only on the indoor circuit in 2016-17, the El Paso, Texas, native punched his ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 3,000-meter run, where he made history for the program. Barraza completed the 15-lap affair in 8:00.69 to finish seventh and earn First Team All-America honors. The feat marked the first time that a Cougar achieved that accolade in a running event over 400 meters.
Barraza opened the slate with a historic run, when he broke the school record in the mile and became just the second Cougar in program history to run a sub-4 mile, crossing the line in 3:58.66. The mile record gave Barraza his fifth program-best mark, as he also owns the indoor 3,000- and 5,000-meter run records as well as the outdoor 5,000- and 10,000-meter records.
Barraza will be in action when he runs the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while competing unattached, at the USATF Outdoor National Championships at 7:45 p.m., Friday.
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