KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
NEW ORLEANS ? The Indiana State men's and women's cross country teams have been honored as 2010 Division I Cross Country All-Academic Teams, it was announced today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
This is the sixth straight honor for the Indiana State women's cross country team which has received the award in 17 of the last 18 years. The only year that ISU did not receive the award was 2004 when they did not compete in the Great Lakes Regional Championship due to injuries. The Indiana State men have been honored in 13 of the last 16 years.
The Sycamore women tied for 23rd nationally with Stanford University as both teams had a 3.58 team grade point average (GPA). A total of 192 schools were ranked with GPA's of 3.00 and higher with the University of Alabama having the highest GPA at 3.88.
“I am fortunate to work with such academically talented women,” John Gartland, Indiana State women's cross country coach, said. “The self-discipline it takes to work had in cross country translates well to their academic lives. I am very proud of these young women.”
Villanova was named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Women's Scholar Team of the Year for the second straight year. 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. The Wildcats won the 2010 Division I Championship and had a 3.38 GPA.
Missouri State was the highest ranked women's team from the Missouri Valley as they tied for second with a 3.70 GPA. Wichita State ranked sixth (3.68) with Creighton seventh (3.66), Indiana State tied for 23rd (3.58), Evansville tied for 27th (3.56), Bradley and Drake tied for 40th (3.52), Southern Illinois tied for 140th (3.28), and Illinois State tied for 154th (3.24).
The Sycamores had the top GPA among Division I programs in the state. Indiana tied for 40th (3.52), Notre Dame tied for 68th (3.45), IUPUI tied for 108th (3.37), Butler tied for 114th (3.35), Purdue tied for 127th (3.31), and IPFW tied for 149th (3.25).
The Sycamore men tied for 42 nd nationally with Stanford University, Binghamton University, and Saint Francis University (Pennsylvania), all posting a 3.33 GPA. A total of 152 schools were ranked with GPA's of 3.00 and higher with Mississippi Valley State University having the highest GPA at 3.62.
“This is the nature of a distance runner,” John McNichols, Indiana State men's cross country coach said. “They know what it takes to excel in distance races and that translates into their work ethic in the classroom.”
Florida State was named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's Scholar Team of the Year. The Seminoles finished second at the 2010 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships and had a 3.11 GPA.
Southern Illinois was the highest ranked men's team in the Missouri Valley as they were second with a 3.60 GPA. Creighton tied for 25th (3.50), Evansville tied for 29th (3.38), Indiana State tied for 42nd (3.33), Bradley tied for 60th (3.28), Drake tied for 105th (3.14), and Illinois State tied for 135th (3.05).
IUPUI had the top GPA among Division I programs in the state as they tied for 21st (3.41). Purdue tied for 29th (3.38), Indiana State tied for 42nd (3.33), Notre Dame tied for 86th (3.19), Butler tied for 115th (3.11), and Indiana tied for 141st (3.01).
Earlier this week, Indiana State senior Michael Disher was named to the 2010 Cross County All-Academic team by the USTFCCCA. Disher has a 3.40 grade point average (GPA) while majoring in Accounting at Indiana State.
“It is a great honor for an exceptional student and an exceptional athlete,” John McNichols, Indiana State men's cross country coach said. “He joins a rather select group of Indiana State athletes to receive this honor. He has the total package, training high volume mileage while performing at the top as an athlete and as a student.”
Disher joins Kyle Hobbs (1992) and George Condy (1994) as the other two Sycamore men who received the honor from the USTFCCCA.
He was named the Most Valuable Player and received the Team Leadership Award for the 2010 Indiana State men's cross country team after finishing in the Top 10 four times this past season including a second place finish at the 2010 State Farm/Missouri Valley Conference Championship. It was his best finish ever at the MVC Championship as he became just the third Indiana State runner to finish second at the MVC Championships along with Hobbs (1991) and Jordan Fife (2005).
Disher was named All-Missouri Valley Conference for the third straight year and was also named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team for the third straight year.
The senior earned his second All-Region honors this past season by leading ISU at the Great Lakes Region Championship with a 20th place finish in a personal best 10K time of 30:46 which is the second best 10K time in school history. He earned his first All-Region selection with a 22nd place finish at the Great Lakes Regional.
Disher also had a personal best 8K time of 24:31, the fifth best in school history, in leading the Sycamores at the Notre Dame Invitational with a 30th place finish. He also finished fifth at the Indiana Intercollegiates with a time of 24:52.
