Pierre Featured in Triathlete Magazine
Junior Nora Pierre was featured in Triathlete magazine in an article that highlighted women of color who compete in varsity triathlon at schools across the country. A resident of London, Ontario, Pierre applied to Davis & Elkins College when she was looking for a school where she could continue her career in swimming. However, triathlon head coach Chris Hammer convinced her to join the triathlon team. In her sophomore year, Pierre placed fourth overall in Division II at collegiate nationals, and I was ninth overall among all DI and DII athletes.
Buck-Gramcko Earns CoSIDA Academic All-America Honors
Davis & Elkins College standout Felix Buck-Gramcko added earning a spot on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America third team for cross country and track to his long list of accomplishments for the 2019-20 season.
Felix Buck-Gramcko
The only male student-athlete from the Mountain East Conference to earn the distinction, considered to be among the most prestigious academic awards in collegiate athletics, Buck-Gramcko graduated in just three years after taking 20+ credit hours each semester and finishing with a 3.96 GPA.
Johnson Named to First Team
Junior forward Jamiyah Johnson earned a spot on the 2019-20 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Atlantic Region Women’s Basketball Second Team. Johnson was named a First Team All-Mountain East Conference selection and guided the Senators to a berth in the conference tournament in the team’s first year as a member of the league. The Williamsburg, Virginia, native capped a stellar junior season by tying the NCAA DII women’s basketball mark of consecutive double-doubles (24) in the conference tournament against Wheeling. She finished the year second in the nation in rebounding average (15.4), first in offensive rebounding average (6.5) and first in double-doubles (26).
“Being black in triathlon is nothing new for me,” Pierre said in the magazine interview. “I came from swimming, where there are not many women of color in the entire sport. But just because I don’t see people like me in the sport doesn’t mean I don’t belong there. It pushes me to be better. I want to be a face in the sport, someone other people can look up to. I never had a role model in swimming growing up, so now I want to be that person for other kids coming up in triathlon.”
Nora Pierre
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative 3.30 GPA or higher, must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution. Nominees must also have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games and must be a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletic credentials. “What an amazing honor for Felix. He is a testament of excelling as a student-athlete, from graduating in just three years, to being named All-MEC, All-Region and becoming a national qualifier in cross country,” head coach Jason Pyles said. “Felix is the most disciplined student-athlete I’ve ever coached, setting high goals and working tirelessly to achieve them.” A management/finance major, Buck-Gramcko was a 2019-20 MEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year finalist. Buck-Gramcko was among the top runners for the Senators this past season in both cross country and track, ultimately helping the squad quality for the 2019 NCAA DII XC Championships, marking the first appearance at nationals for the program in the NCAA era. Buck-Gramcko has already begun work on his master’s degree in Germany and has a long-term goal of competing in the Ironman World Championships. The CoSIDA Academic All-America teams are nominated for and voted on by the nation’s sports information directors. Johnson ranked seventh in the MEC in scoring average (18.8) and converted 54.4% of her shots from the floor. She earned MEC Player of the Week honors in December and later earned U.S. Basketball Writers Association Women’s Division II National Player of the Week honors after averaging 27.0 points and 21.5 rebounds per game in two games against Notre Dame (Ohio) and Urbana. Johnson enters her senior campaign with 901 points and 780 career rebounds. She set the Jamiyah Johnson school’s single-season rebounding mark as a junior and is third on the D&E rebounding list, just 42 shy of tying Jorden Lykes (2010-14) for second.
Section Title
21
