Award History
NAIA XC All-Academic Teams2017 NAIA Cross Country Team All-Academic Awards
NEW ORLEANS – The Columbia (Mo.) men’s cross country and Wayland Baptist women’s cross country squads may have been runners-up at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships late last year, but they were winners in the classroom.
Both teams were named the inaugural Male and Female Scholar Teams of the Year for the 2017 cross country season, announced the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Thursday.
Those two teams, as well as 47 others, earned All-Academic team status by posting a cumulative team grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. A total of 28 women’s teams and 21 teams earned the first-ever team honors doled out by the USTFCCCA.
As the highest finishers at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships that posted a 3.0 grade point average or better, the men of Columbia (Mo.) and the women of Wayland Baptist earned the special distinction.
Columbia (Mo.), led by head coach Tracy Jex, finished in second with 168 points in Vancouver, Washington, back on Nov. 18, 2017. All five scorers for the Cougars finished in the top-50.
Brian Whitlock and the Wayland Baptist women notched 125 points at the meet, and like the men from Columbia (Mo.), all five scorers finished in the top-50. Wayland Baptist also had two runners finish in the top-10.
The women of Southeastern (Fla.) posted the highest team grade point average on the season at 3.74. The men’s side was led by Oregon Tech and its 3.69 team grade point average.
The full list of teams honored by the USTFCCCA can be found below.
2017 NAIA CROSS COUNTRY – MEN’S ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS |
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| Institution | Head Coach | GPA |
| Aquinas | Mike Wojciakowski | 3.33 |
| Bethel (Ind.) | Ryan Sommers | 3.12 |
| Campbellsville | Hilary Lakes | 3.29 |
| Carroll | David Morris | 3.29 |
| Columbia (Mo.) | Tracy Jex | 3.15 |
| Dakota State | Anthony Drealan | 3.53 |
| Dordt | Nate Wolf | 3.34 |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | Chris Bray | 3.16 |
| Grand View | Jerry Monner | 3.34 |
| Indiana Wesleyan | John Foss | 3.2 |
| Midland | Erich Whitemore | 3.28 |
| Northwest | Mark Mandi | 3.33 |
| Olivet Nazarene | Mike McDowell | 3.35 |
| Oregon Tech | Jack Kegg | 3.69 |
| Park (Mo.) | Brian Renshaw | 3.58 |
| Point Park | Kelly Parsley | 3.06 |
| Providence (Mont.) | Bill Brist | 3.13 |
| Southeastern (Fla.) | Paul Kurtz | 3.19 |
| St. Ambrose | Daniel Zeimet | 3.25 |
| St. Francis (Ill.) | Jeffery Barker | 3.25 |
| Trinity Christian | Bob Brickman | 3.09 |
2017 NAIA CROSS COUNTRY – WOMEN’S ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS |
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| Institution | Head Coach | GPA |
| Aquinas | Mike Wojciakowski | 3.56 |
| Bethel (Ind.) | Ryan Sommers | 3.39 |
| Bethel (Kan.) | Jeff Hoskisson | 3.41 |
| Campbellsville | Hilary Lakes | 3.22 |
| Carroll | David Morris | 3.31 |
| Central Methodist | Mark Nelson | 3.59 |
| Columbia (Mo.) | Tracy Jex | 3.5 |
| Dakota State | Anthony Drealan | 3.05 |
| Dordt | Nate Wolf | 3.52 |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | Chris Bray | 3.39 |
| Grand View | Jerry Monner | 3.4 |
| Indiana Wesleyan | John Foss | 3.48 |
| Midland | Erich Whitemore | 3.22 |
| Mobile | Andy Canegitta | 3.16 |
| Northwest | Mark Mandi | 3.47 |
| Northwestern (Iowa) | Scott Bahrke | 3.51 |
| Olivet Nazarene | Mike McDowell | 3.37 |
| Oregon Tech | Jack Kegg | 3.56 |
| Park (Mo.) | Brian Renshaw | 3.51 |
| Point Park | Kelly Parsley | 3.62 |
| Providence (Mont.) | Bill Brist | 3.35 |
| Saint Francis (Ind.) | Kyle Allison | 3.37 |
| Southeastern (Fla.) | Paul Kurtz | 3.74 |
| St. Ambrose | Daniel Zeimet | 3.53 |
| St. Francis (Ill.) | Jeffery Barker | 3.41 |
| Taylor | Quinn White | 3.66 |
| Trinity Christian | Bob Brickman | 3.69 |
| Wayland Baptist | Brian Whitlock | 3.08 |