Hawai'i junior high jumper Lilian Turban earned second-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors Tuesday as one of the elite student-athletes in collegiate track & field.
 
Turban is just the second Rainbow Wahine track & field athlete to earn Academic All-America honors and the first since 2009. Only three-time Academic All-American Annett Wichmann (2007-09) has claimed the recognition. She is also the only Big West student-athlete to be on any of the three teams.
 
The Tallinn, Estonia, native finished the indoor season as a USTFCCCA Second-Team Academic All-American after finishing 10th in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Her appearance at the indoor national championships was the first by a Rainbow Wahine athlete since 2010, while making her only the third different UH athlete ever to compete at the event.
 
Turban secured a spot in the NCAA Indoor Championships by jumping 1.86m (6-1.25) to take home her second consecutive high jump title at the MPSF Indoor Championships. The mark of 1.86m is also the second-best mark all-time at UH.
 
A communications major, Turban has also earned CSC Academic All-District recognition and MPSF All-Academic honors this season for her athletic and academic accomplishments.