The men’s and women’s cross-country teams have received academic distinction from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The men’s team received the Scholar Team of the Year award, and the women’s team received a team All-Academic honor, according to ocusports.com. The association also recognized four students from each team with All-Academic honor awards.
To qualify as an All-Academic team, a team’s cumulative GPA must be above 3.00. To receive an individual honor, one must have a GPA above 3.25. The men’s team had the highest GPA and won nationals in November, earning them the Scholar Team of the Year recognition.
Matt Aguero, head cross-country and track coach, said the team was excited.
“It’s always an honor. Last spring both our men’s and women’s team were scholar teams for the track season and our women won the outdoor track Scholar Team. We’ve been in this area before, so it’s always good for us to kind of keep that academic standard high,” he said. “They’re students first and athletes second, so it’s good to be recognized both as a student and then also as they were athletically at the national championships during November.”
Aguero said one way the coaching staff assists students academically is by hosting a study hall once a week for two hours. This is mandatory for one semester for all incoming students, and students are required to attend less or more study halls based on their academic performance.
He said the coaches get updates from athletes’ professors every four weeks and communicate with the professors if someone is struggling in a class.
Tyler Berge, Sheridan Hoyer, Anna Palacios, and Alexas Vargas from the women’s team received the individual All-Academic honor, as well as Max McNeill, Oscar Kipkoros, Oaklin Davis, and Michał Roguski from the men’s team.
Oaklin Davis, business administration graduate, said he appreciated the sense of comradery the team study hall provided and likened the team to a support group in academics.
“For future students, I think it’s impactful that you come into a program that has that reputation, that they know they have to do the same thing and do well. Kind of create that kind of history of success. I think we’ve done that in competition, but I think doing that in academics is going to be equally impactful in our success,” he said.
Tyler Berge, accounting senior, said she was excited to receive the All-Academic honor and said being busy and participating in study hall helped her stay productive.
“Academics are really important on the team, and school is just as important as running,” she said.
Oscar Kipkoros, criminology/nonprofit leadership graduate, said he had a GPA of 3.75 and never expected to receive this recognition. He said a large part of his work in maintaining his GPA was time management, knowing when to speak to professors and doing assignments early.
“It’s one of the best things that have happened in my life. I wanted to be on the best of teams that achieve something good,” he said.
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