UTEP Miners

UTEP’s Belik, Bernal, Meaders, Garner C-USA T&F All-Academic Honors

5/18/2023 12:00:00 PM

DALLAS – UTEP's Jakub Belik, Daniel Bernal and Zani Meaders were named to the 2023 Conference USA Men's and Women's Track & Field All-Academic Teams as announced by league officials on Thursday.

The trio of UTEP student-athletes named to the team are the most since 2016 (Fayon Gonzales, Esteban Montanez and Sven Zellner).

Meaders, a junior transfer, maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA in creative writing. She recently claimed a bronze medal in the 400-meter dash at the C-USA Championships on May 14, while also earning gold in the women's 4x400-meter relay and silver in the 4x100 in Denton last week. Meaders ran an outdoor personal-best 53.65 in the 400m, placing first at the New Mexico Spring Invitational. She was also part of the 4x100 team that posted a season-best 44.05 at the Desert Heat Classic on April 29. The 4x100m relay team ranks 16^th in the West Region.

Belik, a sophomore, worked towards an impressive 3.81 GPA in computer science. The native of Jaromer, Czech Republic, captured a gold medal at the 2023 C-USA OTF Championships, leaping an outdoor personal-best 2.16 meters (7-1) on May 13, while he also won gold at the indoor championships, leaping 2.14 meters (7-0.25) on Feb. 18. Belik won four of the five outdoor HJ events, placing first at the Willie Williams (2.10m), New Mexico Spring Invitational (2.07m), Bryan Clay Invitational (2.12m) and at the C-USA Championships. Belik took second at the Desert Heat Classic (2.15m). Belik ranks tied 13^th in the West Region.

Bernal, a graduate student, has a 3.62 GPA while working towards a Master of Industrial Engineering. The transfer from Furman, and product of El Paso (Eastwood High School), earned a gold medal at the '23 indoor championships in the 3000-meter event, clocking in a personal-best 8:00.14. Bernal also won silver in the 5000-meter final, posting a 14:09.52. He opened the 2023 track season with a personal-best 13:52.79 in the 5000m at the Boston University Sharon Colyear Danville Season Opener on Dec. 3.

For complete coverage of UTEP Track & Field/Cross Country, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPTrack (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.

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