June 3, 2004

AMHERST, Mass. - Two members of the University of Massachusetts men's track and field team have been selected to the 2003-2004 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District I team. Senior Kwesi Frimpong-Boateng (Accra, Ghana) and senior John O'Neil (North Reading, Mass.) were both named to the squad, and are now candidates for Academic All-America honors

Frimpong-Boateng, who was also named Academic All-District I last year, holds school records in the 55 meters (6.28 seconds), 100 meters (10.30 seconds) and 200 meters (20.90 seconds). Over the last three years, he has won five Atlantic 10 individual titles, two New England individual titles and an IC4A individual title. Academically, Frimpong-Boateng currently has a 4.00 grade point average as a graduate student in Microbiology. He is a four time Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year selection (two times in indoor track and two times in outdoor track), a six time Academic All-Atlantic 10 selection (three times in both indoor track and outdoor track), and earned second team Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA in 2002-2003. In addition, Frimpong-Boateng was named the 2003-2004 UMass Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.

O'Neil won the 2004 Atlantic 10 title in the decathlon with a total of 6,115 points. He also placed third in the 400 meter hurdles and eighth in the pole vault at the 2004 Atlantic 10 Championship. O'Neil previously won the Atlantic 10 decathlon title in 2002, while placing second in 2003. Academically, O'Neil carries a 3.87 grade point average in Communications. He has earned Academic All-Atlantic 10 honors in both indoor and outdoor track during each of the last two seasons.

A complete list of the 2003-2004 CoSIDA Academic All-District I team follows.

2003-2004 CoSIDA Academic All-District I University Division
Men's Track and Field / Cross Country Team

Name                     School          Yr.   Hometown               GPA    Major
Magnus Ahlen             Manhattan       Sr.   Karlstad, Sweden       3.80   Engineering
Ashley Carter-Sinclair   Long Island     Sr.   Staten Island, N.Y.    3.57   English / Psychology
Kwesi Frimpong-Boateng   Massachusetts   Sr.   Accra, Ghana           4.00   Microbiology
Sean Furey               Dartmouth       Sr.   Methuen, Mass.         3.41   Engineering Sciences
Aaron Hill               Northeastern    So.   Ben Wheeler, Texas     3.96   Electrical Engineering
Giles Longley-Cook	 Cornell         Sr.   Hartford, Conn.        3.55   Economics
Mike Nanaszko            Cornell         Sr.   Sparta, N.J.           3.75   Biological Sciences
John O'Neil              Massachusetts   Sr.   North Reading, Mass.   3.87   Communications
Paul Strozier            Army            Jr.   Irvine, Calif.         3.90   System Engineering
Rajne Svenssonn          Manhattan       Sr.   Karlstad, Sweden       3.61   Business