Michigan State University Athletics
Six Spartans Earn All-America Awards
3/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
March 12, 2012
NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced that six Michigan State athletes have earned All-America distinctions for the 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field season. Awards were given out based on the performances of this past weekend's NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Nampa, Idaho.
Beth Rohl (New Buffalo, Mich./ New Buffalo) and Tori Franklin (Westmont, Ill./ Downers Grove South) earned first team All-America honors for the Michigan State women.
Rohl, a Redshirt Junior, owns the school record in the weight throw with an effort of 20.99m (68-10 ½), a feat she accomplished at the Alex Wilson Invitational. She was a fifth place finisher this past weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2011, she was the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year and a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Indoor First-Team All-American.
Franklin took third place in the triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships and earned a silver medal at the 2012 Big Ten Indoor Championships as a freshman. She is Michigan State's indoor school record holder in the event at 13.05m (42-9 ¾), breaking her own record twice throughout the course of the season. Franklin was also a two-time Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week in 2012.
First team honors on the men's side went to Zack Hill (Zeeland, Mich./ Allendale) and Lonnie Pugh (Grosse Ile, Mich./Grosse Ile).
Hill, a Redshirt Sophomore, broke Michigan State's indoor record in the shot put in a sixth place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships and won the bronze in the shot put at the 2012 Big Ten Indoor Championships. In 2011, Hill was a NCAA East Preliminary Round Qualifier and a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Outdoor Second-Team All-American in indoor and outdoor track.
Pugh, a Redshirt Junior, had a school-record weight throw of 21.40m (70-02 ½) at the Alex Wilson Invitational and placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2011, Pugh was a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Outdoor First-Team All-American in the indoor and outdoor track seasons, as well as a 2011 NCAA East Preliminary Round Qualifier.
Fifth-year Senior Jay Gillespie (Allen Park, Mich./Allen Park) earned second team All-America honors for the Spartans, placing ninth at the Indoor Championships in the weight throw. Gillespie was the school's indoor record holder in the event at 21.32m (69-11 ½) until teammate Pugh topped that mark prior to the end of the indoor season. In 2011, Gillespie was also a NCAA East Preliminary Round Qualifier in outdoor track.
Honorable Mention honors went to Senior Becca Buchholtz (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) who topped her own school record in the high jump this season, passing the six-foot mark (1.83m). Buchholtz won the women's title in the high jump at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, her fourth individual conference title. She was named Big Ten Co-Field Athlete of the Week on January 23, 2012 and in 2011, Buchholtz was a NCAA East Preliminary Round Qualifier in outdoor track for Michigan State.
