NEW ORLEANS – The Harding women's cross country team was one of just three Gulf South Conference teams named a USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country All-Academic Team. It was the fifth straight season Harding has earned the honor.
Harding's women compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.50 to rank among the top 20 programs in Division II. The only other GSC teams on the list were Arkansas Tech and Christian Brothers.
The Lady Bisons won the GSC Championship, placed second in the NCAA Division II South Region meet and placed 19th at the NCAA Division II Championship.
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.
Adams State College was named the 2009 NCAA Division II USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country Scholar Team of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Monday. The Scholar Team of the Year distinction goes to the program that earned All-Academic Team honors and placed the highest among the field at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
In November, Adams State swept NCAA Cross Country titles, capturing both men's and women's national crowns for the second-consecutive year. In addition, The Grizzlies won their third-straight NCAA Central Regional title in the fall. Adams State placed three runners in the top five en route to a 52-point win for their seventh regional title in the last eight years. The Grizzlies also won this year's RMAC Conference cross country title, extending their RMAC record of eight-straight conference titles. The women of Adams State have a collective team GPA of 3.38 after the fall semester.
Truman State surpassed all Division II teams with a 3.78 cumulative GPA. Seattle Pacific finished last year with a 3.72 GPA.
All five of the top five and seven of the top 10 team finishers from the NCAA Cross Country Championships earned the honor. In addition, regional champions from all eight NCAA regions claimed All-Academic honors.
The PSAC led all conferences with 13 teams placed on the All-Academic roll. Three conferences claimed eight teams in the mix.
