Alvarez, Balentine earn all-academic awards

University of Hawaii track and field athletes Amanda Alvarez and Samantha Balentine were selected as U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association all-academic honorees.

Alvarez, a senior who won the Big West triple jump championship and competed at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships, was named to the USTFCCCA all-academic team for the second time. Balentine, a senior and one of the nation’s top high jumpers this year, is a four-time recipient.

The Rainbow Wahine earned a combined team grade-point average of 3.18 and were honored by the USTFCCCA as an all-academic team.

Liang wins silver at Deaflympics

Hawaii swimmer Peggy Liang won a silver medal in the 50-meter butterfly at the 2013 Summer Deaflympics on Monday in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Liang, a Rainbow Wahine junior, posted a time of 29.67 seconds and was the top American finisher. She also finished fifth (1:00.06) in the 100-meter freestyle, falling 0.65 seconds short of a medal, and teamed with Alixandria Gavin, Jazmin Hernandez and Samantha Elam to finish fourth (9:20.24) in the 4×200 freestyle. Liang will swim in the 200 freestyle event on Wednesday. Results are posted at www.sofia2013.com.