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 last week.

Colorado College, University of Dallas and LeTourneau University had both their men’s and women’s programs receive recognition, while the Texas Lutheran University men were also recognized. Colorado College had both programs recognized for the sixth consecutive year while for Dallas, this marks the third time in the last four years both programs have been recognized and the sixth-straight year for the women’s program. For the Texas Lutheran men's program, this is the third-straight year to receive USTFCCCA academic honors. 

The Colorado College women, led by Alex Nichols, posted the highest GPA among all SCAC programs at 3.85 to garner All-Academic honors. The Tigers were 8th among all 220 women’s team in Division III to receive recognition. In total, two SCAC women’s programs landed inside the top-25 as LeTourneau, coached by Kevin Gideon, posted a 3.78 GPA (25th). Head Coach Blair Casey's Dallas Crusaders earned All-Academic honors after posting a 3.24 GPA. 

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 416 teams honored by the USTFCCCA, of which 220 were women’s teams and 196 were men’s teams.

Individually, seniors Brooktie Frogge (Computer Science), Abby Goodfried (Political Science), Alison Mueller-Hickler (Environmental Science) and Liz White (Molecular Biology) and junior Charlie Flint (Chemistry) of Colorado College earned USTFCCCA individual All-Academic recognition on the women’s side.  

In order to qualify for All-Academic distinction, student athletes must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 on a 4.0 scale and finish in the top-25 percent of their respective regional championship meet.

On the men’s side, Colorado College led the way among all SCAC institutions receiving recognition with a team GPA of 3.8. That mark was the sixth-best among the 196 men’s teams across Division III to receive academic accolades. LeTourneau posted a team GPA of 3.4, Texas Lutheran under Head Coach Bri Ratliff posted a 3.23 and Dallas recorded a 3.15 with each earning team recognition from the USTFCCCA.

Individually, Colorado College placed five student-athletes on the USTFCCCA All-Academic team, while LeTourneau was represented by one individual. The CC Tigers to earn individual accolades included seniors Rabbit Barnes (Neuroscience) and Axel Klomparens (Physics), junior Will Shuflit (Political Science/Russian and Eurasian Studies) and sophomores Vincent Mangat (Biochemistry) and Diego Escalante (Undeclared), while LeTourneau senior David Dugan (Mechanical Engineering) rounded out the SCAC individual honorees.

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.