ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s and women’s cross country teams were named Division I All-Academic teams by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), while five total student-athletes were awarded individual All-Academic honors.
After posting a sweep of the Mountain West championships for the sixth straight season and a third-place finish by the women at the NCAA Championships, the Lobos are now being recognized for their work in the classroom.
The first honor, the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, recognizes teams that registered a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or higher during the academic year.
The UNM women, with a team GPA of 3.67, were one of seven Mountain West Schools to earn the honor, and were tops in the conference. The women also tied for the 10th-best GPA out of the 226 Division I institutions that were recognized.
The men’s team, which combined for a 3.36 GPA, had the second-highest GPA in the MW, trailing only Colorado State (3.39 GPA). UNM was one of five MW schools to earn the accolade.
Individually, the Lobos also produced strong academic results, with five total student-athletes earning USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for their combined efforts in competition and in the classroom.
The individual award is awarded to student-athletes who hold a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale and have finished in the top 25 finishers (or 10 percent) at regionals or as an All-American at the national meet.
For the New Mexico women, four student-athletes met the criteria, including Alice Wright, Charlotte Arter, Anna Burton and Nicola Hood.
Wright and Arter were both All-Americans for the Lobos, who placed third at the NCAA meet, while Burton and Hood were top-25 finishers at the UNM-hosted NCAA Mountain Regional Championships.
The UNM women also led the Mountain West in the number of individual honorees, tallying four of the conference’s six total honors on the women’s side.
For the men, Ross Matheson, the Lobos’ top finisher at regionals, was honored. He was one of six Mountain West athletes to be recognized.