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New Mexico Junior College Thunderbirds
Calisha Taylor Wins Scholar Track Athlete of the Year, 15 Other T&F Athletes Collect Academic Honors 
July 21, 2023

Calisha Taylor Wins Scholar Track Athlete of the Year, 15 Other T&F Athletes Collect Academic Honors 

Postseason academic awards continue to roll in for the NMJC track & field teams. 

Thunderbird women's track & field athlete Calisha Taylor took home some extra hardware this past week when she was named the 2023 USTFCCCA's NJCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year.

The award is a combination of academic performance and athletic success. Taylor finished the spring semester with a perfect 4.0. She backed up her already impressive showing in the classroom with an incredible national champion performance on the track. Taylor won the 400mH for the second consecutive season during the 2023 NJCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The women's track & field indoor and outdoor squad was named the 2023 USTFCCCA's NJCAA Women's Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field National Scholar Team of the Year. The award is given to a team with a combination of academic and athletic achievement. The T-Birds had a cumulative 3.23 GPA for the spring semester on their way to winning the indoor and outdoor national championships this year. 

The USTFCCCA handed out their individual NJCAA All-Academic awards to 16 NMJC track & field athletes July 13 with the requirement that each athlete maintains a GPA of 3.40 or better on top of taking 12 credit hours during the spring semester. 

10 women's track and field athletes were recognized for their academic performance this semester by the USTFCCCA. Damaris Chewon, Anisha Gibbons, Daisy Jerop, Carolyne Kimaiyo, Joan Kimalel, Letlhogonolo Magoro, Jada Martin, Deshana Skeete, Calisha Taylor, and Morgan Waltmire all earned the NJCAA All-Academic distinction by the USTFCCCA.  

The T-Bird men's track & field squad had six athletes in Takudzwa (Donald) Chiyangwa, David Hernandez, Alex Keter, Chris Korir, German Vega, and Tomas Vega all make the USTFCCCA NJCAA All-Academic list. 

Both the NMJC men's and women's track & field teams were named USTFCCCA NJCAA Programs of the Year. The USTFCCCA Program of the Year Award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution's finish at the NJCAA Championships.