Women's Cross Country Receives USTFCCCA Academic Honors

USTFCCCA Team Release | USTFCCCA Individual Release | TU Honors Page

NEW ORLEANS – The Taylor University women's cross country program dominated on the course and in the classroom, earning individual and team academic honors from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recently.

TU was one of 39 women's cross country programs in the NAIA to receive the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award for posting a combined team grade-point average of 3.0 or better during the fall semester. The Trojans turned in a 3.72 GPA to rank fourth in the NAIA.

The USTFCCCA also handed out individual All-Academic awards to anyone who competed in the 2018 NAIA Cross Country National Championships and compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better.

Taylor tied for the top mark in the nation with seven honors, as Alex Berends, Rachel Blagg, Taylor Bluemel, Mae Elizabeth Gimre, Sarah Harden, Corinne O'Leary and Livy Schroder were all named as USTFCCCA All-Academic recipients.

The men's and women's cross country teams combined for the second-most individual All-Academic awards in the NAIA with 12 honors between the two teams.

In addition to ranking fourth in the NAIA in team GPA and leading the NAIA in USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, Taylor also topped the NAIA in Scholar-Athlete awards, grabbed a sixth-straight Crossroads League Championship and turned in a program-best, third-place finish at the NAIA National Championships.