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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Two Athletes Selected to Academic All-America District Team
6/21/1999 | Track and Field
May 26, 1998
OXFORD, Miss. -- Sebastien DeChaunac, a junior on the Ole Miss men's tennis team, and Calvin Thigpen, a senior on the Rebel men's track and field squad, have been named to the GTE/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America District VI Men's At-Large Team for the spring sports season.
The two Rebel student-athletes were selected to the academic squad by a vote of the district's sports information directors. DeChaunac and Thigpen now are eligible for selection to the national academic All-America team as a result of being chosen to the district's first team. The national academic All-America team will be announced on June 16.
Ole Miss is the only school in the district to have two student-athletes named to the All-America team. To be eligible for selection, student-athletes must be in their second year of competition at their institution, be a contributing member of their team and hold at least a 3.2 grade-point average. Last year, Ole Miss had three student-athletes, including Thigpen, on the GTE/CoSIDA District VI Men's Spring At-Large team. Thigpen went on to earn national academic All-America honors in 1997.
DeChaunac, a native of Aix-en-Provence, France, holds a 3.85 grade-point average in Economics and is currently participating in the men's singles competition at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. Ranked No. 1 in the country in men's singles, DeChaunac led the Rebels to a No. 6 national ranking and the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships this year. Entering the NCAA Championships, DeChaunac has a 21-6 singles overall record, including a 16-6 mark at the No. 1 spot. He won the 1998 Southeastern Conference singles title and earned All-SEC first team accolades this year. An integral member of Ole Miss' SEC championship teams in 1996 and 1997, DeChaunac was the 1997 SEC Tournament MVP and helped guide the Rebels to the NCAA Championships semifinals in 1997. DeChaunac holds a career singles record of 93-18 and has received All-America, All-SEC and SEC Academic Honor Roll distinction the past two seasons.
A native of Jackson, Miss., Thigpen graduated this year with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in Chemistry. This past academic year, Thigpen served as Ole Miss' Associated Student Body President while competing for the Rebels in track and field. Thigpen recorded a personal-best time of 32:51.43 in the 10,000 meters and also had a season-best time of 15:54.16 in the 5000 meters during the outdoor season. He had a personal-best time of 15:30.9 in the 5000 meters in the Rebels' indoor campaign. A four-year letterwinner, Thigpen has been named to the Chancellor's Honor Roll (3.75-4.00 gpa) every semester and is a three-time selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. In the fall of 1997, he was selected to the University's Hall of Fame, which is the highest honor an Ole Miss student can receive. Thigpen, who was a member of six honor societies on campus, was also active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).
The following is the GTE/CoSIDA District VI Academic All-America team:
