Wake Forest Athletics
Three Deacons Named to All-ACC Academic Outdoor Teams
6/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
By Josh Gresh, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeTrack)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Kyle Graves, Simon Holden, and Nyki Caldwell were named to the All-ACC Academic Outdoor Track & Field team, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
Graves, a senior health and exercise science major from Silver Spring, Md., is now a two-time member of the All-ACC Academic Outdoor team as he was also selected in 2014. He was also a member of the 2013 All-ACC Academic Indoor Track & Field team.
One of the top middle distance runners in Wake Forest history, Graves earned First Team All-American honors in the 1,500m this spring, finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. Graves became the first Wake Forest male track and field athlete to earn First Team All-American honors since Michael Bingham in 2009, and only the second mid-distance All-American in Wake Forest history since Warren Sherman was the first in the 800m in 1995.
At the NCAA Championships, Graves was in the rear of the final for the first three laps of the 1,500m before using a kick on the final lap, clocking the fastest final 400m time of 51.92 seconds and finished with a final time of 3:55.39, earning a sixth place finish. It was a great way to end his career as a Demon Deacon earning his first-career All-American honors at his first NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
At the NCAA East Regional hosted by North Florida, Graves competed in the 1,500m and finished second out of 23 competitors in the quarterfinal, finishing in 3:45.01, just five hundredths of a second behind Villanova's Robert Denault to qualify for his first NCAA Championships of his career.
Graves is one of the best mid-distance runners in Wake Forest history as he has set multiple school records and ranks on Wake Forest's top-10 performance list in the 1,500m, 800m, and the mile.
Caldwell, a senior health and exercise science major from Dexter, Mich., made history this season as she was a two-time ACC champion in the high jump this season, claiming both the indoor and outdoor titles.
She became the first women in Wake Forest history to win both an indoor and outdoor ACC championship in a field event. Caldwell also became the first Demon Deacon to win both an indoor and outdoor championship in the same event, during the same season since Michelle Sikes in 2007. Sikes won the ACC 5,000m championships for indoor and outdoor, while also winning the 10,000m championship in outdoor in 2007.
Caldwell wrapped up her Wake Forest career with an 18th-place finish in the high jump at the NCAA East Regional. The senior leaped 1.75m (5-8.75), but was unable to clear the next mark of 1.79m (5-10.5).
Holden, a sophomore mathematical stats major from Lookout Mountain, Ga., competed mainly in the 800m and 1,500m this season and qualified for the ACC finals for both events this season. He had a tough day competing in two finals in the men's 800m and 1,500m, however, he earned All-ACC Second Team honors in the 800m finishing in fifth place, his first-career All-ACC honor. In the 1,500m, Holden crossed the finish line in ninth place.
During his outdoor campaign, he earned a total of seven top-three finishes combined between the 800m and 1,500m. Holden set the 1,500m outdoor school record in this season at the Virginia Challenge clocking a personal-best time of 3:41.92. He also earned Second Team All-ACC Indoor honors this year in the 800m.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one's academic career.
Players Mentioned
