Colorado State University Athletics
Rams cross country earns six academic honors from USTFCCCA
2/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
USTFCCCA All-Academic Releases: Team | Individual
NEW ORLEANS - The Colorado State cross country team earned six combined team and individual academic honors from the U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA), the organization announced on Thursday.
Each of the women's and men's teams were honored as USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country All-Academic Teams. The CSU women posted a team GPA of 3.58, while the Rams' men had a team GPA of 3.38. Each of CSU's women and men far exceeded requirements for the honor, as teams needed a combined GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale to be eligible.
Individually, CSU raked in four USTFCCCA Division I Cross County All-Academic Individual honors, as two CSU women and men were recognized. On the women's side, Darby Gilfillan and Janelle Lincks were honored, while Jefferson Abbey and Jerrell Mock picked up accolades on the men's side. To be eligible for individual honors, athletes had to either be an All-Region or All-American performer and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better.
Lincks and Gilfillan were both All-Region honorees after finishing 13th and 14th, respectively, at the NCAA Mountain Regional. The duo earned individual berths to the NCAA Cross Country Championships with those performances, becoming the first tandem in CSU history to do so since Kristen Hemphill and Ellie Rastall in 2009. It was also the second straight berth for Gilfillan, who was the first CSU women's runner to reach the national meet in back-to-back seasons since Rastall in 2008-09.
Mock placed ninth at the NCAA Mountain Regional while Abbey finished in 18th to earn All-Region honors and lift the men's team to their third team appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in the past four seasons. Mock made his third appearance in the national championships, while Abbey made his program-record fourth appearance. As a team, the CSU men placed 17th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, marking the program's highest national finish since 2003.
