Cross Country Teams Named All-Academic By USTFCCCA

Four from Men's Cross Country Named to National Academic Team

02/22/07 4:30PM

METAIRIE, LA - Successful both on the trails and in the classroom, the William and Mary men's and women's cross country teams were honored today with the announcement of the All-Academic Cross Country teams. The program is run by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, which also administers the regional and national awards and polls for track and cross country.

The women's cross country team was selected as an All-Academic team for the 11th time, and eighth-consecutive year. To be eligible, a team must maintain an overall grade-point average of over 3.0, and compete at an NCAA Regional. William and Mary was seventh in the Southeast Region, and combined for a GPA of 3.247. National champion Stanford University was named the Academic Team of the Year, with a combined GPA of 3.47.

The men's cross country team earned its ninth team award, seventh in a row, after taking second in the Southeast Regional. Iona College, which placed third at the NCAA Championships, was named Academic Team of the Year for men. W&M also had four athletes garner All-Academic individual honors, tied with North Carolina State for the most from any one team. To earn All-Academic individual honors, a runner needed to either be named All-American or finish in the top 10% of their region, as well as maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25.

The Tribe's athletes who earned All-Academic honors were two-time All-American junior Christo Landry (Falls Church, Va.), 2006 Academic All-American senior Keith Bechtol (Alexandria, Va.), 2005 CAA Athlete of the Year junior Ian Fitzgerald (Glenshaw, Pa.), and 2005 NACAC Champion junior Dave Mock (Johnstown, Pa.).