University of Tennessee Athletics
HELWICK, SABATINO EARN FIRST-TEAM ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
June 05, 2006 | Men's Track
June 5, 2006
Chris Helwick and Zach Sabatino were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District men's track and field/cross country team Thursday. Helwick and Sabatino were both first-team selections from District IV, which places them on the ballot for the Academic All-America team.
Sabatino, a senior from Charleston, W.Va., made the first team behind the strength of a 3.72 GPA in sport management. Sabatino was voted co-captain for the 2005 cross country season by his teammates and earned All-SEC, All-South Region and All-America honors. Sabatino finished 23rd, the best individual finish by a Vol since 1995, in the NCAA cross country championship and was named the Most Valuable Runner at the team banquet. He scored for Tennessee in the steeplechase and 10,000 meters at the SEC outdoor championships in Fayetteville, Ark., contributing seven points towards the Vols' second-place finish. Sabatino finished fifth in the steeplechase at the Mideast Regional to qualify for the NCAA outdoor championships this week.
Helwick, a junior from Greeley, Colo., made the first team with his 3.60 GPA in economics. Helwick was voted co-captain for the 2006 track season by his teammates and scored 28.5 points May 11-14 at the SEC outdoor championships, the most by a Vol at the conference championship meet since Justin Gatlin scored 30.5 in 2002, to win the Commissioner's Trophy as the meet's highest individual scorer. Helwick won his second-straight conference title in the decathlon with 7,765 points and cleared 16-6 3/4 to win the pole vault. He also took third in the javelin after launching the spear 211-5 and tied for sixth in the high jump. Helwick's season-best score of 7,765 in the decathlon automatically qualified him for the NCAA outdoor championships.
The athletes in contention for the Academic All-District team were nominated by their respective schools and voted on by sports information directors across the country, with athletic and academic excellence considered during the voting process. The Academic All-America team will be released next month after the final round of voting takes place.
