ERIE, Pa. - Gannon’s
Rosie Cooper (Falconer, N.Y./Falconer) and
Madison Steward (Mayville, N.Y./Chautauqua Lake) have been named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic team released Monday morning.
Cooper owns a 3.81 cumulative grade-point average as a Sport and Exercise Science major. The senior is also a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Scholar Athlete. She finished the 2009 PSAC Championship 6K course in 25 minutes and 53.5 seconds. The Falconer, N.Y., native was Gannon’s top runner at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional, finishing that 6K race in 23 minutes and 57 seconds. Her 2009 resume included a third-place finish at the Race in the Park and a 17th-place finish at the Roberts Wesleyan Invitational.
Madison has a 3.86 cumulative GPA as a Physician’s Assistant major. Another PSAC Scholar-Athlete, Madison ran the PSAC Championship course in 26 minutes and 9.1 seconds. Her NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional time was 24 minutes and 24 seconds. The Mayville, N.Y., native finished fifth at the Race in the Park and ninth at the Westminster (Pa.) Invitational.
Cooper and Madison were two of 286 student-athletes granted All-Academic status for their efforts in the classroom and on the nation’s cross country courses.
To qualify for All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must have completed at least 12 semester/quarter hours through the semester of competition at the institution to be eligible. The student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 cumulative GPA and have placed in the top 30 percent of the total number of athletes eligible to compete at their respective regional championships or have placed in the top 50 percent of the field at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.
The 286 USTFCCCA All-Academic honorees represent 106 schools around the country. The list includes 31 runners who had 4.0 grade-point averages at the end of the 2009 fall semester. The selections also include seven regional champions, eight who finished in the nation’s top 10 and four of the top five at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.
The PSAC again had the most conference student-athletes on the USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Academic list with 43. The Northeast-10 was second with 36.
For the complete list of USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Academic selections, please
click here.