Thirteen KU Cross Country Runners Earn Academic All-Big 12 Honors
Oct. 23, 2012
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Thirteen members of the Kansas men’s and women’s cross country teams received Academic All-Big 12 recognition it was announced Tuesday by the league office. Headlining the group was sophomore Liza Tauscher, who was one of 13 Big 12 athletes to achieve a 4.0 GPA en route to being named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team.
A total of six KU women were honored on the list of 77 total student-athletes, four of which made the first team and two on the second-team. Senior Kathleen Thompson (civil engineering) made the prestigious list for the third year in a row, while sophomores Liza Tauscher (pre-pharmacy), Ragan Allen (architecture) and Madison Moser (exercise science) were named to the first team for the first time. Tauscher was the only Jayhawk to earn a perfect 4.0 GPA and was one of 12 Big 12 female runners to achieve the feat.
Seniors Tessa Turcotte (speech-language-hearing) and Devin Wiegers (business-management and leadership) were additions to the second team. Turcotte is now a three-time honoree, having been named to the first team each of the last two seasons, while Wiegers finds her name on the list for the second time after earning first team honors a year ago.
On the list of 50 student-athletes, the KU men had four first-team selections and three second-team honorees.
Senior Ben Wilson, a senior sport management major, earned his second Academic All-Big 12 distinction but was named to the first team for the first time. Senior Kaman Schneider (biology), sophomore Reid Buchanan (electrical engineering) and redshirt freshman Logan Sloan were all donned with first-team selections as well.
Senior Josh Baden (mathematics) found his name on the All-Academic list for the fourth-straight year by claiming second-team honors. He was joined by sophomores Brendan Soucie (exercise science) and James Wilson (secondary education) on the second team, both for the first time.
Nominated by each institution’s director of student-athlete support services, the men’s and women’s cross country academic all-league squads include those who have maintained a 3.00 GPA (either cumulative or over each of the two previous semesters) and have participated in 60 percent of his/her team’s scheduled contests. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and members of the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
Kansas will compete at the Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Oct. 27. The women’s 6K race begins at 10 a.m. (CT), followed by the men’s 6K at 11 a.m.
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