NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans standout Ismael Kone was honored with an All-America Honorable Mention after his performance at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend at Hayward Field. Kone cemented himself as one of the top sprinters in the nation as he finished 21st in the country in the 100.
The honors were made official by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday.
Kone, the first UNO student-athlete to advance to an outdoor national championship since 2017, posted a 10.50 to take seventh out of the third heat at the national championships. His Top-21 finish overall was the second-best performance at an outdoor national championship in school history. With the showing, Kone ranked himself as the tenth-best freshman in the country in the 100.
In total, Kone was one of just 17 Southland Conference student-athletes who earned either First, Second or Honorable Mention honors as an individual.
Kone advanced to nationals after he ran a personal best and school record of 10.09 at the NCAA East Preliminary Round. His freshman season featured a fourth-place finish in the 100 and running a leg of the silver-medal 4×100 squad during conference outdoors to go on top of a second-place finish in the 60 at the indoor championships. He owns the school record in both the outdoor 100 and 200 after this season to go with multiple top-10 marks in the indoor 60 and 200.
Kone’s season also took him to the national stage three times as he was featured during national broadcasts on ESPN2, the Longhorn Network (ESPN) and the national stream of the NCAA East Prelims.
Student-athletes earned First-Team All-America status by finishing among the top-8 of their events – including as a member of a relay team – at the 2021 Outdoor Championships. Second-Team All-America honors went to those student-athletes that finished between ninth and 16th place while honorable mention went to those student-athletes who finished 17th through 24th in their respective event.
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{Courtesy: release from UNO}