Aug. 4, 2011

USTFCCCA Release

New Orleans, La. - Navy men's track and field distance standouts Cody Rome (Eagle, Idaho) and Dean Black (Colorado Springs, Colo.) have earned U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I All-Academic honors for the 2010-11 season, the association recently announced.

Rome, a rising senior, advanced to the 2011 NCAA Outdoor East Regional in the 5,000m run, where he placed 14th in his heat and 30th overall. Also in the outdoor season, Rome ran a 5,000m time of 14:01.81, which places him third on Navy's all-time performance list in the event.

Rome also set a new Patriot League Indoor Championship Meet record with a first-place time of 8:07.51 in the 3,000m and he also broke Navy's school record with a time of 7:55.12 in the 3,000m. Rome's time of 7:55.12 placed him 21st on the NCAA indoor performance list, just missing an NCAA Indoor Championship berth by one spot.

Rome, who recently became the sixth member of the Navy men's track and field program to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors when he was named to the second team, carries a 3.55 GPA in applied mathematics. He was also named the 2010-11 Patriot League Men's Indoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Black advanced to the 2011 NCAA Outdoor East Regional in the 3,000m Steeplechase. Black ran a personal record of 8:54.94 to place fourth in his heat and 15th overall, narrowly missing the top 12 cut for the NCAA Championship.

Black won the Patriot League Outdoor 3,000m Steeplechase for the second year in a row and also earned IC4A All-East honors in the steeplechase with a third place finish at the regional competition.

Black, a rising junior, is an English major with a 3.53 cumulative GPA.

The most recent Mid to earn USTFCCCA All-Academic honors was 2010 graduate Mark Van Orden, a three-time recipient.

A total of 420 student-athletes representing 153 institutions were named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team this season. To qualify, the student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships (including preliminary rounds) or rank in the national top 96 in an individual event (or top 48 in a relay) on the official NCAA Indoor performance list.