Wake Forest Athletics
Burns Named Academic All-American
6/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
June 13, 2002
Rachel Burns, a senior heptathlete on the Wake Forest women's track & field team was selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America University Division Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Second Team on Thursday. The Wahalla, SC native graduated May 20 with a degree in Biology and a stunning 3.98 grade point average. She earned third team Academic All-America honors last year and is also a two-time academic all-district selection.
The former school record holder in the indoor long jump, Burns holds the fifth-best high jump mark in school history when she cleared 5-4.25 at the 2000 WFU Dual Meet. The 2001 Wake Forest Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, Burns is a recipient of the James-Weaver-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship. She finished seventh in the heptathlon at the 2002 ACC Championships with a personal best score of 4321, the fourth-best score in school history. The runner-up in the high jump section of the heptathlon at the 2002 ACC Championships with a mark of 5-3.75, Burns took fourth place in the 100m hurdles section of the heptathlon at the 2002 Liberty Invitational with a personal best time of 15.43, the fifth-fastest time in school history and she also finished fourth in the outdoor long jump at the 2002 Charlotte Invitational with a personal best mark of 17-5.25, the fourth-best mark in school history. Burns placed fifth in the heptathlon at the 2002 49er Classic with a score of 3649 and took fifth in the indoor pentathlon with a score of 2,908 at Virginia Tech's 2002 Kroger Invitational.
To be nominated for the Verizon Academic All-America team, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for her career. No athlete is eligible until she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at her institution. A complete list of the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America teams is available at cosida.com.
