FAIRFAX, Va. – For the second straight year a member of the George Mason track and field program has been named an Academic All-American.

Junior John Seals was named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Team. Seals, a multi-event athlete for the indoor and outdoor track teams, was named to the Third Team.

Seals, a native of nearby Springfield, Va., earns the prestigious honor only a year after former track standout Jennifer Nakamura was also named a Third Team Academic All-American. Nakamura and Seals are the only two Mason track athletes to earn the honor.

Seals is just the 11th Mason student-athlete since 1990 to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team, which is voted on upon by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. He is the second Patriot to earn Academic All-American honors this season as pitcher Tyler Zombro of the baseball team was named to the Third Team three weeks ago.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program is the only Academic All-America designation recognized by the NCAA. To be eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

A five-time A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll selection and two-time member of the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team, Seals carries an impressive 3.67 GPA while majoring in civil engineering.

This past winter, Seals, garnered USTFCCCA Second Team All-America honors in indoor track. He qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championship – one of the hardest track & field meets to qualify for in the world – with an outstanding performance in the heptathlon during the season.

He captured the A-10 Championship title in the event with a school-record point total of 5,770, qualifying for the indoor national meet in the process. In College Station, Seals put together another solid total of 5,447 points to earn the Second Team All-America designation.

In addition to his A-10 gold medal in the heptathlon, Seals also captured individual crowns in the high jump and the 60m hurdles while leading the Patriots to the Atlantic 10 title. For his efforts, Seals was named the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Performer of the Year.

In his career, Seals has won six individual Atlantic 10 Championships while leading the Patriots to a trio of team titles. He is a three-time NCAA qualifier, having also placed in the top-25 in the high jump during NCAA East Preliminary berths in 2015 and 2016. Seals did not compete during the 2017 outdoor season due to injury.