NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) has announced the 2016 DII Cross Country All-Academic Awards, with Anderson University's Abigail Bozarth, Maddie Buddenberg, Martha Coleman, Grace Gerlock, Haylee Love and Luke Horne being named to the teams.
Horne, a freshman from Greenville, S.C. carries a 3.69 GPA and is majoring in nursing. Bozarth (4.0 GPA), Buddenberg (4.0 GPA) and Coleman (3.73 GPA) are sophomores majoring in kinesiology, nursing and graphic design, respectively, while Gerlock is a senior nursing major with a 3.93 GPA. Love, a junior art/graphic design major owns a 3.68 GPA.
Honorees must have compiled a cumulative GPA or 3.25 or greater and must have finished among the top 30 percent of total eligible runners at his regional championship and/or in the top half of the field at the NCAA Championships.
Overall, 404 women earned the honors from 137 different institutions, with 53 laying claim to a perfect 4.00 grade point average. Five squads in California Baptist University, Northern Michigan University, Pittsburg State University, Union University and University of Montevallo saw each member of its varsity line-up on the All-Academic List. Another ten schools posted six All-Academic honorees.
On the men's side, 269 individuals represented 118 different institutions, with 20 men notching a flawless 4.00 grade point average. Bellarmine University, Bentley University and Colorado State University-Pueblo were the lone three schools on the men's side that saw six individuals on the All-Academic list.
Both the Trojan men's (3.19 GPA) and women's (3.62 GPA) cross country squads were among 156 women's teams and 115 men's teams that earned All-Academic Team honors for the 2016 season. Programs must have compiled a cumulative GPA or 3.00 or greater and scored at an NCAA Division II regional meet to qualify for the award.
The women's cross country team narrowly edged women's track and field for the Dr. Shirley Jacks Award, which is given by the AU Athletic Department to the team that possesses the highest grade point average at the end of each semester. The women's cross country team also paced the department in both semesters of the 2008-09 academic year and for six semesters out of seven academic terms from 2008-2011.
Joining the Black and Gold on the men's side from the South Atlantic Conference were Queens, Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill. On the women's side, Queens, Wingate, Catawba and Mars Hill also joined the AU women's squad.
