EMU’s cross country teams have each won All-Academic awards once again from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
This is the third straight season the Royals women have earned the team award and second in a row for the men.
For a team to be considered for this honor, it must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional meet and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.10 on a 4.0 scale. Overall, there were 384 teams honored by the association, of which 212 were women’s teams and 172 were men’s teams.
EMU’s women had an impressive team GPA of 3.71 and finished 24th at the South/Southeast Regional race, while the men had a GPA of 3.31 and finish 23rd at the regional meet. Both teams were well above the standards to earn All-Academic Team recognition.
“The men’s and women’s cross country teams are saturated with intellectual behemoths so I’m not surprised at this award,” explained Coach Bob Hepler. “The women’s team GPA is unreal! 3.71 is the highest team GPA of any team that I have ever coached in my very long career. I’m proud of the men for earning the academic award again this year, and think they can continue to raise that team GPA.”