Willamette Cross Country Runners Earn All-Academic Honors

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Five Willamette University cross country runners have received All-Academic status from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 2010 season. Three members of the Willamette men's team and two runners on the Bearcat women's team were chosen for the All-Academic award.

Overall, 170 student-athletes from Division III were chosen for the Womens All-Academic Team and 142 runners were chosen for the Men's All-Academic Team. Each All-Academic selection was recognized for achieving a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher, while finishing in the top 35 at an NCAA Regional cross country meet.

Willamettes All-Academic selections from the women's team were Theresa Edwards (So., Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake HS), who is majoring in Biology, and Kimber Mattox (So., Bend, OR/Bend HS/Cornell University), an Exercise Science major.

Student-Athletes from the Willamette men's team who received All-Academic honors were Ben Donovan (Jr., Minneapolis, MN/South HS), a Physics major, Ryan McLaughlin (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Milwaukie HS), who is majoring in History, and Stefan Redfield (Sr., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS), a Rhetoric and Media Studies major.

In addition, both the men's team and the women's team from Willamette received All-Academic status for the academic success of all team members.

A total of 167 womens track and field teams and 125 mens track and field teams in NCAA Division III were selected for the All-Academic award. Each squad had to earn at least a 3.1 cumulative team GPA and compete at an NCAA Regional with at least five runners in order to achieve All-Academic status.

The Willamette women's team achieved a 3.54 cumulative team GPA. Members of the Bearcat men's team earned a 3.37 cumulative team GPA.

Scholar Team of the Year honors went to the Middlebury College (Vt.) women's team and to the Haverford College (Pa.) men's team. Each year, the award goes to the teams earning All-Academic status that place highest at the NCAA Championships. Middlebury's women won the NCAA title and attained a 3.43 GPA. Haverford's men took first place in the NCAA and produced a 3.55 GPA.

Jennifer Gossels from Williams College (Mass.) was chosen as the Cross Country Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She achieved a 4.00 cumulative GPA and finished second individually at the NCAA Championships. Former Willamette cross country runner Sarah Zerzan ('08) received the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in 2006 and 2007 while winning back-to-back NCAA individual championships.

Anders Hulleberg of Haverford was named the Cross Country Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He produced a 3.60 GPA and won the individual title at the NCAA Championships.

The Willamette men's team won the NCAA West Regional title in 2010 and took 23rd place at the NCAA Championships. At the Regional, Redfield placed second, while McLaughlin was 17th and Donovan was 29th.

Redfield earned All-America honors by placing 17th in the men's 8-kilometer race at nationals. Donovan and McLaughlin also competed at nationals.

Runners for the Bearcat women's team combined to place sixth at the NCAA West Regional, with Mattox earning seventh place and Edwards finishing 13th. Mattox and Edwards represented WU at the NCAA Championships. Mattox took 35th place in the 6-kilometer race at nationals to earn All-America recognition.

Willamette's men took second place at the Northwest Conference Championships, while the WU women's team finished third. Leo Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) won the NWC men's individual championship and Mattox won the NWC women's individual title.