Garcia-Tunon Tops Men's All-ACC Academic List Along With Nine Other Seminoles

Florida State posts more student-athletes than any other conference school.

Aug. 5, 2009

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Although he has graduated and moved on from being one of Florida State’s most talented student-athletes on and off the track, Javier Garcia-Tunon is continuing to be honored for his school work achievements as the former Seminole was named the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year as announced by Commissioner John D. Swofford. Leading the 40 student-athlete All-ACC Academic Team, FSU posted more student-athletes than any other league school with a total of 10 athletes on the impressive list.

“This is an unbelievable honor,” said Garcia-Tunon. “I can't believe it. I'm glad I was able to represent Florida State and make my family and friends proud.”

Born in Miami, Fla., Garcia-Tunon was an inspiration to all student-athletes at Florida State as he excelled in both his undergraduate and graduate courses by boasting a 4.0 grade point average. As the only Seminole in school history to be named a four-time CoSIDA /ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American, Garcia-Tunon has earned over four academic accolades just this season. However, Garcia-Tunon started excelling in school early in his collegiate career by earning a spot on the 2006 and 2007 All-ACC honor roll.

As the only four-time recipient of the All-ACC Academic honor, Garcia-Tunon has also showed he isn’t just talented in the classroom. With three NCAA Outdoor Championship appearances, the Seminole earned his first All-American honor in 2009 with an eighth-place finish in the 400m hurdles. At the 2009 ACC Outdoor Championships Garcia-Tunon captured the 400m hurdle title and scored 10 points for the Garnet and Gold, leading them to the program’s fifth-consecutive title.