WAYNE – Both the Wayne State College women’s and men’s cross country teams brought home team and even an individual academic award in late January.
According to a release from the Wayne State Athletics office, the Wildcats finished top 10 in NCAA Division II grade point average.
The Wayne State men’s cross country team took home the top GPA this season as the Wildcats received the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Award with a 3.82 grade point average. This is the ninth consecutive year that WSC has earned the coaches’ association All-Academic honor.
To qualify for the honor, an institution must have at least a 3.00 team cumulative grade point average and scored at an NCAA Division II regional competition during the season.
Wayne State was one of 11 teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference to collect the All-Academic Award.
For the Wildcat women, the team and freshman runner Jade Rickard collected USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) All-Academic Awards. It marks the seventh time in the last eight years that the Wildcat women’s cross country team earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.
WSC recorded a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 to finish eighth nationally out of 148 teams that posted a 3.00 team grade point average receiving the honor. Wayne State was one of 13 teams from the NSIC to earn the award.
Individually, Jade Rickard, a freshman from Plainview, received the All-Academic Athlete award after placing in the top 30 of the regional teams while maintaining a 3.25 grade point average or higher.