The Lawrence University women’s cross country team is one of the top academic teams in the nation.
The Vikings were named a NCAA Division III All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Vikings had a 3.62 team grade point average, which ranks as the 10th-best team GPA in the nation. It is believed this is the highest a Lawrence team has ever placed nationally in terms of GPA. The 2001-02 Lawrence wrestling squad had the 11th-best team GPA in the nation.
“This is just another example of our student-athletes getting it done on the course and in the classroom,” Lawrence head coach Jason Fast said. “This is something that we preach every day, and they take that to heart.”
Lawrence team members are: senior Anne Sullivan (Whitefish Bay, Wis.), juniors Emily Muhs (Janesville, Wis.) and Amelia Sancilio (Roseville, Minn.), sophomores Marty Allen (Weston, Mass.), Amanda Dwyer (Ralston, Neb.) and Mary Kate Smith (Charlottesville, Va.) and freshmen Alyssa Herman (Wadsworth, Ill.) and Anna Ratliff (Elmhurst, Ill.).
Lawrence was one of 167 teams, including four from the Midwest Conference, to be honored.
To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, the team must have a cumulative team GPA of 3.10 or better and have compiled a score (finished at least five runners) at its NCAA regional championship.