Cross Country: WVU Honored for Academics
March 08, 2010 02:36 PM | General
By Kelly Tuckwiller for MSNsportsNET.com
March 8, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University cross country team has been named an All-Academic Team by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The group was ranked ninth in the nation in terms of overall grade point average and had the highest GPA of any team that finished in the top 25 at the national nhampionships with a 3.76 team average.
"I have always been of the opinion that academics and athletics can go hand-in-hand if the proper support staff and environment are in place,” coach Sean Cleary says. “To have the highest team GPA of any team that finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships is a tremendous accomplishment. This speaks very well of the commitment to academics by our student-athletes, coaches and academic support staff. Coach Garrett Ford, Paul Downey and their entire staff create an atmosphere by which results like this are an expectation, not a fluke.”
The BIG EAST led all conferences with 13 squads mentioned as All-Academic recipients. The SEC and Big Ten each scored 10 teams on the honor roll.
For a team to be considered for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, they must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Championship and also have a minimum 3.00 team cumulative GPA.
Last week seniors Marie-Louise Asselin, Keri Bland, Clara Grandt and junior Kate Harrison were named All-Academic honorees for their performances in the classroom and in competition.
