RICHMOND- The Atlantic 10 announced their postseason Indoor Track & Field All-Academic and All-Rookie Teams on Tuesday. Eight VCU athletes were named to these teams as Destiny Ese and Tate Foerster were named to the men's All-Rookie team, Taylah Walker and Melissa Casiraghi to the women's All-Rookie Team, Troy McWilliams and Philip Daniel to the men's All-Academic team, and Jordyn Evans and Asia Powell to the women's All-Academic team.
Ese was named to the All-Rookie team thanks to a 7.48m long jump at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational which ranked 19th among Division I freshmen and second in the A-10. During the A-10 Championships in February, he finished third in long jump at 7.14m and fourth in triple jump at 15.04m. He won A-10 Rookie of the Week on Jan. 13 thanks to a third place long jump at the VCU Rams Indoor Invite.
Foerster joined the All-Rookie team after a 16.03m shot put in his collegiate debut at the VCU Rams Indoor Invitational. The throw netted him a fourth place finish in the event. The Leesburg, Va. native competed in three meets in both the shot put and weight throw.
On the women's side, Walker was named to the All-Rookie team after a 1.65m high jump in the debut event. She starred as a multi-event rookie as she competed in the 60m hurdles, 300m run, high jump and pentathlon. She placed third in the pentathlon at the Patriot Games thanks to second place finishes in the high jump and 60h.
Casiraghi had a strong debut season as she had the best results among A-10 freshmen in both the shot put and weight throw. During the A-10 championships, the Italian native set a personal record with a second-place finish in the weight throw at 18.39m. She also set a personal record with a 11.97m throw in shot put at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
McWilliams was named to the men's All-Academic team thanks to a strong season in the classroom and in the pit. The Newport News native attained a 3.68 GPA in interdisciplinary studies after transferring from Norfolk State for his senior season. In the pit, McWilliams dominated in the weight throw with a personal record 19.95m throw in the Doc Hale Meet. He also won gold thanks to a 19.83m throw in the A-10 Championship.
Daniel dominated in the field while also serving as president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at VCU. He set a program record for triple jump in a gold medal performance at 15.66m at the A-10 Championships, breaking his own record of 15.60m at the Doc Hale Meet. The Manassas Park native achieved a 3.54 GPA in Business Management.
On the women's side, Evans achieved All-Academic honors with a 3.91 GPA as a Finance major. The senior won gold in the 500m run at the A-10 Championship with a personal record of 1:15.53. She added a silver medal to her performance as a member of the 4x400m team that helped the Rams clinch the team championship.
A Suffolk, Va. native, Powell achieved All-Academic honors after a career performance at the A-10 Championships where she won gold in the 60m dash with a personal-record 7.36s time. She added a bronze medal in the 200m run at 24.03s. The health services major attained a 3.40 GPA in addition to her athletic accomplishments on the track.
The Rams begin the Outdoor Track & Field season on Friday, March 20 with a split meet as some athletes will travel to Orlando, Fla. for the UCF Black & Gold Challenge and others remain in Richmond for the Fred Hardy Invitational, hosted by the University of Richmond. The Fred Hardy Invitational will be streamed on ESPN+.
