Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Cross Country teams garner USTFCCCA All-Academic honors
02/17/2011 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Feb. 16, 2011
By Michael Benson
SIUSalukis.com
NEW ORLEANS - The Southern Illinois men's and women's cross country teams have be awarded United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Cross Country All-Academic Team honors, the association announced Wednesday.
In order to qualify, a team must have competed and compiled a team score at a 2010 NCAA Regional Championship and have a minimum 3.0 grade point average as a team.
The men's team, who took second in the Missouri Valley Conference and ninth in the NCAA Midwest Regional, ranks second in the nation with a cumulative team GPA of 3.60. Only Mississippi Valley State, which boasts a 3.62 GPA, ranked higher than the Saluki men. SIU was joined on the men's side by fellow MVC members Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, and Indiana State.
"In order to be a successful athlete in our system you need to understand how to be a good student and how to live a disciplined lifestyle," said head coach Matt Sparks. "The eight men who ran cross country this year understand these fundamentals and all were instrumental in leading us to our MVC runner-up finish."
Meanwhile, the women's team earned this national honor with a 3.28 team GPA during the 2010 season after taking sixth place at the MVC Championships. Of the team members, seniors Emily Toennies and Megan Hoelscher, along with junior Jamie Pfister, all maintain 4.0 GPAs. Seven other MVC women's teams - Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, and Missouri State - were honored alongside the Salukis.
"Emily Toennies, Megan Hoelscher, and Jamie Pfister are our three upperclassman who have lead us on the course and in the classroom throughout their careers," Sparks said. "We were especially proud of Emily winning the Elite 18 award from the Missouri Valley Conference."
