Women’s T&F: Griffin Earns ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Honors – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Senior Jenna Griffin added another honor to her 2008 resume Thursday. The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and ESPN The Magazine named her to its 2008 Academic All-District IV Team. She now moves on to the national ballot and will look to win back-to-back Academic All-America honors.
Currently in graduate school, Griffin spouts an impressive 3.96 grade-point-average in Marketing and Strategic Communications. She is a 2007 Academic All-American, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, an OSU Scholar-Athlete and graduated Summa Cum Laude June 2007.
This is the third-consecutive season that Griffin has been named academic all-district. Griffin earned individual all-regional honors with her second-place finish in the 400-meter dash at the Mideast Regional Championships in a school-record time of 52.00. The academic award is far from the first honor Griffin has earned as she has five Big Ten championships (two this season), the 2008 Big Ten Medal of Honor and earned All-America honors during the 2007 indoor season in the 400-meter dash. She already holds school records in the indoor 400-meter dash, the sprint medley relay, the outdoor 4×100-meter relay (set at the 2008 Big Ten Championships), the outdoor 4×400-meter relay (set at the NCAA Mideast Regional championships) and the indoor 4×400-meter relay.
The time of 52.00 is tied for fifth-best in the country this season. It also is the 14th-best time by an American this year and is an Olympic-B standard for the native of Somerset, N.J. It will likely propel her to the Olympic Trials in Eugene Ore., June 27-July 6.
Griffin is also a member of the 4×400-meter relay team consisting of herself, senior Chandra Krempel, sophomore Ashley Caldwell and junior Ayrizanna Favours. The team set a new school record in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:32.26, finishing second at the meet and earning all of them all-region honors. The team surpassed the old record by almost four seconds. The Buckeyes finished right behind the defending national champion in the event, LSU. The team is the same that holds the indoor school record in the event. The time by the Buckeyes also is the sixth-best time in the country this season. The time also was a season-best for the team by nearly five seconds.
