XC Recognized for Academics By USTFCCCA
2/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
NEW ORLEANS - The Baylor men's and women's cross country teams earned All-Academic honors from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, USTFCCCA officials announced Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Rachel Johnson, Mariah Kelly and Maggie Montoya garnered individual USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.
The award honors teams, which have succeeded both academically and athletically. To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country team, the team must have had a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or better and have started at least five runners at their respective NCAA regional championship.
The Baylor men posted a 3.48 team cumulative GPA in 2014 and had five athletes make the Academic All-Big 12 team. In competition, the Bears earned their highest finish since 2003 at the Big 12 Championships with a sixth-place showing and at the regional level BU took 12th.
On the women's side, the Lady Bears had a cumulative 3.44 GPA. BU led the Big 12 with 15 selections to the league's academic squad. On the course, the women were third at the Big 12 Championships. With a second-place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships, BU earned a trip to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2009. To conclude its season, Baylor took 19th at the national meet in the Terre Haute, Ind.
Individually, Johnson, Kelly and Montoya were three of 153 women's student-athletes to earn the academic accolade nationally. It was the first time since 2010 that the Lady Bears had three individuals recognized. All three athletes were among BU's scoring runners at the NCAA Championships.
Johnson, a senior exercise physiology major, had a historic final season in cross country as she tied a program-record with a fifth-place individual finish at the national meet to garner All-America status. She also earned All-Region and All-Big 12 honors by placing second and third at those meets, respectively. This is the second-straight year that Johnson has been honored.
Kelly, a senior in health science studies, was a scoring runner for BU in all six of her races in 2014. She nabbed All-Big 12 honors with a 14th-place finish at the conference meet.
Montoya, a sophomore health science studies major, tallied scoring performances for BU in all six of her races in the fall. She placed 12th at the regional meet and seventh at the conference race to garner All-Region and All-Big 12 accolades.
Baylor is one of 179 men's teams to earn all-academic status by the USTFCCCA, while the women's program is one of 226 nationally to be honored.
This is the fourth-straight season in which BU has had both of its teams recognized. Baylor joins Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas and Texas Tech as the only Big 12 programs to have both the men's and women's squads recognized.
To stay current on all things Baylor cross country, follow the team on Twitter: @BaylorTrack.
