NEW ORLEANS, La. - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its men’s and women's team and individual academic awards.
Colorado College and Trinity University led the way for SCAC programs as both the men's and women's teams received All-Academic Team recognition.
The Colorado College men, led by head coach Ted Castaneda, posted the highest GPA among conference teams at 3.51 to garmer All-Academic honors. That ranked 35th among the 172 teams in Division III to receive recogntion. Trinity University, led by head coach Emily Daum, posted a 3.27 GPA this season. The Southwestern men, led by head coach Steven Cary, were also honored by the USTFCCCA as the Pirates posted a team GPA of 3.13.
For a team to be considered for this honor, it must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional meet and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.10 on a 4.0 scale. Overall, there were 384 teams honored by the USTFCCCA, of which 212 were women’s teams and 172 were men’s teams.
Individually, Tony Calderon, a senior Organismal Biology major, and Jack Williams, a senior Ecology International Poitical Economy major, of Colorado College both earned All-Academic team recognition as did Harry Bellow, a junior Geosciences major, and Keaton Holt, a junior Physics major, from Trinity University. It marks the second consecutive year that Bellow and Holt have received USTFCCCA All-Academic individual honors.
On the women’s side, Colorado College, coached by Ted Castaneda, led the way among the four SCAC institutions receiving recognition with a team GPA of 3.61 (57th of 212 teams). University of Dallas, led by head coach Nick Schneigert, earned team honors with a 3.40 GPA. Trinity University, coached by Emily Daum, posted a team GPA of 3.29 this season, and Texas Lutheran University, led by head coach Darlene Holland, tallied a 3.21 team GPA in also earning All-Academic recognition.
Individually, Colorado College sophomore Organismal Biology and Ecology major Emily Dwyer and junior Psychology major Alexia Preston both earned All-Academic team honors.
Trinity University also placed two honorees on the team with first-year Biology major Anna King and senior Psychology major Brianna Ratliff receiving recogntion. The All-Acadmeic individual honor for Ratliff marks the third consecutive year she has been recognized.
Rounding out the individual honorees from the SCAC, sophomore Theology major Anna Wilgenbusch of the University of Dallas and senior Kinesiology major Kylee Garcia of Texas Lutheran University also earned All-Academic recognition.
To earn individual honors, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher and finish in the top 25 percent at their respective regional. There were 687 student-athletes who earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors with women accounting for 55 percent (378) and men accounting for 45 percent (309) of that total.
To view the entire list of USTFCCCA Women's Team Academic Award winners, click here.
To view the entire list of USTFCCCA Men's Team Academic Award winners, click here.
To view the entire list of USTFCCCA Women's Individual Academic Award winners, click here.
To view the entire list of USTFCCCA Men's Individual Academic Award winners, click here.