Aug. 5, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Florida State University senior hurdler Javier Garcia-Tunon has been named the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year and leads the 40-person All-ACC Academic team, as announced today by Commissioner John D. Swofford.

Garcia-Tunon, a business administration major from Miami, Fla., is a two-time member of the All-ACC Academic team and won an ACC title in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2009 Outdoor Championships and turned in an All-America performance at the NCAA meet last spring.

Garcia-Tunon is also an ACC Honor Roll selection, and was named to the first team for both the College Sports Information Directors of America/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America and Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholars teams.

Before his championship season in 2009, Garcia-Tunon earned All-ACC honors in both 2006 and 2007. At the 2009 ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he was crowned the individual champion in the 400-meter hurdles with a 50.38 finish, as Florida State shared the men's team title with the University of Virginia.

Garcia-Tunon bested his time at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. with a 40.99 time to stand in eighth place and earn All-America honors.

The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were established in September 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the awards must have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for their career as well as earned a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters.

Garcia-Tunon was joined on the All-ACC Academic team by nine of his Seminole teammates as Florida State led the ACC with 10 total selections. Duke trailed with seven selections, followed by Virginia Tech and Wake Forest with four selections each, and Boston College, North Carolina, and NC State with three apiece. All 12 ACC institutions were represented as Georgia Tech placed two student-athletes on the squad, and Clemson, Maryland, Miami, and Virginia each placed one.

Ten track and field student-athletes earned All-ACC Academic accolades for the second year in a row, and three honorees earned the honor for the third consecutive year. Garcia-Tunon is the only four-time recipient of the accolade.

To be considered for the All-ACC Academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the most recent semester and for their careers.