NCAA Champ Wash-U Bears Gain Title of Scholar Team of the Year

NEW ORLEANS – The Bears of Washington University of St. Louis are the USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Women’s Scholar Team of the Year for the 2011 cross country season as announced Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The squad also won their first NCAA cross country title this fall.

USTFCCCA All-Academic History

Scholar Teams of the year are determined from among those who earned All-Academic status and placed highest as a team at the most recent NCAA Championships.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division III
Cross Country Women’s Scholar Team of the Year – Washington (Mo.)

The Bears, coached by Jeff Stiles, has tallied a 3.70 cumulative team GPA through the 2011 fall semester. The mark ranks third among all Division III women’s cross country teams.

Washington’s women came away from the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships with the program’s first-ever title, scoring 70 points to outpace defending champion Middlebury (111). The Bears were led by senior Erica Jackey who placed fourth overall despite being nine seconds back of the field after the first mile. Freshman Lucy Cheadle finished 20th overall, sophomore Sarah Fisher was 22nd, senior Molly Wawrzyniak took 23rd, and senior Elizabeth Phillips rounded out team scoring as the 40th overall finisher.

The team also won the NCAA Midwest Regional with just 24 points, winning by 91 over UW-Eau Claire. The squad finished all seven runners in the overall top 20, going 2-3-4-6-9-14-19. In addition for Stiles in his 11th year at WASHU, the Bears won a third-straight UAA title this fall.

All seven of Washington’s runners at the NCAA Cross Country Championships earned individual All-Academic honors last week – having tallied a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better through the fall semester.
 
Past Winners

2011: Washington (Mo.)
2010: Middlebury
2009: UW-Eau Claire
2008: Middlebury
2007: Amherst
2006: Middlebury

187 Teams Earn All-Academic Status

In addition to the Scholar Team of the Year, the USTFCCCA also announced those women’s teams who earned 2011 Division III All-Academic Cross Country status.

A total of 187 institutions represent 38 conferences that compose the group. The NESCAC and MIAC each had ten institutions make the list to lead all leagues in Division III. The Centennial, NCAC, and WIAC followed with nine.

Of the 32 teams that participated in the national championship meet, 31 of those earned All-Academic status – including all eight regional champion teams.

To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team, the team must have had a cumulative team GPA of 3.10 through the 2011 fall semester.

USTFCCCA 2011 Division III Cross Country All-Academic Teams, WOMEN