Posted: Feb 04, 2020

MTU Cross Country Earns USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors

NEW ORLEANS – The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has announced its 2019 Division II All-Academic Teams, and the Michigan Tech cross country team both earned spots on the men's and women's lists. In addition, 11 individual Michigan Tech student-athletes received All-Academic honors.

In order for a team to qualify for All-Academic distinction, they must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale and have compiled a team score at their respective regional championship meet. An individual student-athlete must possess a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale and have finished in the top-30 percent of their respective regional championship meet to qualify for All-Academic honors.

The Michigan Tech men's team was one of eight GLIAC schools to earn a spot on the All-Academic team list with a cumulative GPA of 3.32. The Huskies qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2019, securing a 13^th-place at their first-ever National Championship race as a team. Tech also finished second at the GLIAC Championships and second at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, putting the 2019 season as one of the finest in program history.

With a team GPA of 3.67, the Michigan Tech women's team qualified for the All-Academic team as one of nine GLIAC schools. Tech qualified for its second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships and finished 24^th in the final race of the year. The Huskies finished third at the GLIAC Championships before placing second at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships.

Individually, the Michigan Tech men's team is represented by Robert Beggs, Matt Pahl, Clayton Sayen, and Robbie Watling on the USTFCCCA Division II All-Academic team for the men, while the MTU women's team is represented by Emily Byrd, Gabrielle Feber, Sarah Goble, Carly Huggins, Amanda Kautzer, Sam Kurkowski, and Mady VanWieren. All 11 student-athletes ran for Michigan Tech at the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships, with Pahl earning All-America status to become the second Michigan Tech men's cross country runner to earn All-America honors. Pahl, Byrd, and Sayen all earned All-Region and First Team All-GLIAC honors in 2019, while Feber scored a Second Team All-GLIAC finish at the 2019 GLIAC Championships. Beggs, Watling, Feber, Goble, Huggins, Kautzer, Kurkowski, and VanWieren all ran for the Huskies at the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships.

In the classroom, Beggs earned a 3.45 GPA as a Mechanical Engineering major, while Pahl earned a 3.34 GPA as a Chemical Engineering major, Sayen achieved a 3.79 GPA as an Engineering Management major, and Watling scored a 3.88 GPA as a Computer Science major. For the women's team, Byrd finished with a 3.82 GPA as an Environmental Engineering major, Feber was a 4.00 student-athlete as a Chemical Engineering major, Goble possessed a 3.78 GPA as an Economics major, Huggins earned a 3.40 GPA as an Environmental Engineering major, Kautzer earned a 4.00 GPA as a Biomedical Engineering major, Kurkowski finished with a 3.92 GPA as an Environmental Engineering major, and VanWieren recorded a 4.00 GPA as a Materials Engineering major.