Aug. 10, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State's Alexander Pelaez (men's tennis), Aisha Praught (cross country/track & field) and Brittany Smith (track & field) were named 2011 Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholars, as announced by Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
Smith had a stellar sophomore season, including a third-place finish in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a personal-best mark and school record of 56-04.75 and earned All-America honors. The Oak Park, Ill., native used a personal-best mark of 65-01.50 in the weight throw at the Keck Invitational to finish first. The mark also set a school record.
Smith's success carried over into the outdoor season. Smith earned All-Valley honors in the discus with a personal-best throw of 172-01 for a second-place finish. Smith set a personal-best mark and school record in the hammer throw at the Valley Outdoor Championships with a throw of 206-03 for third place, earning All-Valley honors. She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw, finishing ninth with a mark of 205-09 and second-team All-America honors. Smith is a math¬ematics major and holds a cumulative GPA of 3.69 and earned All-Valley Scholar-Athlete honors.
During the cross country season, Praught finished seventh and earned All-Valley honors at the 2010 State Farm MVC Championships with a career-best 5K time of 17:47.89. During the indoor season, Praught earned All-Valley honors with a second-place finish at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships in the mile with a time of 4:56.12. She went on to earn All-Valley honors in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:49.90, which put her in third place.
In the outdoor season, Praught set a personal-best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Mt. SAC Relays with a time of 10:23.56 and won the event at the competitive Drake Relays in 10:25.11. She earned All-Valley honors with a first-place finish at the Valley Outdoor Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:36.48. The Moline, Ill., native qualified for the NCAA West Regional in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and finished 26th in 10:29.40. Praught, an All-Valley Scholar-Athlete, holds a 3.24 cumulative GPA in geology.
Pelaez posted overall records of 31-9 in singles and 30-7 in doubles during the 2010-11 season. He finished first at the No. 2 singles position at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships. Pelaez received a national-ranking of 42 in doubles with teammate Timon Reichelt(Mar. 2). The duo teamed up again and finished first in Flight A doubles at the Louisville Fall Invitational. Pelaez advanced to the doubles semifinals of the ITA Midwest Regional Championships also with Reichelt. Pelaez , an international business major with a 3.32 cumulative grade-point average (GPA), was named to the Valley Scholar-Athlete First Team.
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