Cross Country Named Men’s and Women’s All-Academic Teams

NEW ORLEANS, La.- After a season that ended with the Northern Arizona University men’s and women’s cross country teams finishing in the top-25 at the NCAA Championships, both Lumberjack squads have been honored for their achievements in the classroom as well by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

“Having both teams receive All-Academic honors in addition to the success they had in their seasons is a real testament to their hard work and the expectations that this staff had for the student-athletes,” said Director of Cross Coutnry and Track and Field JW Hardy. “We want to have great student-athletes, and to do that, they have to be great students first.”

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 Meet. The team must also have a minimum 3.00 team cumulative grade point average.

The 2008 Big Sky Conference Champions registered a cumulative grade point average of 3.30. The NAU men went on to finish second in the region and sixth in the nation in 2008. Sophomore David Mc-Neill earned his second cross country All-American honor in 2008 when he finished 13th in the race.

“The men did a great job of increasing their GPA from where it was at last year,” said Head Distance Coach Eric Heins. “It’s always our goal to run and compete, but it’s also always a goal to have student-athletes about a 3.0 grade point average.”

The NAU women posted a grade point average of 3.16 while winning the Big Sky Conference, placing third in the Mountain Region, and going on to finish 23rd at the NCAA Championships. Junior transfer Veronica Pohl was named All-American for her 16th-place national finish.