KU Cross Country Teams, Individuals Claim Academic Honors

NEW ORLEANS – The University of Kansas men’s and women’s cross country teams earned All-Academic Team honors for the 2013 season, it was announced Friday by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Jayhawks also saw three men and one woman claim individual USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.
 
To be eligible for the award, a team must have a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA and must have competed at least five runners at the NCAA regional championship meet in November. KU was one of three teams in the Big 12 Conference to see both its men’s and women’s teams earn the distinction. The Jayhawk men amassed a GPA of 3.14, while the women ended the fall semester with a 3.30 cumulative GPA.

The KU men were led by a deep group of individuals who not only excelled on the cross country trails, but in the classroom as well. Senior Josh Munsch and juniors Reid Buchanan and Evan Landes were Kansas’ men’s All-Academic honorees on the USTFCCCA list. Each posted GPAs above 3.50 and were members of the NCAA Midwest All-Region Team after their top-20 performances at the Midwest Regional in November.
 
The Jayhawk women earned All-Academic team status after the squad combined for a 3.30 GPA in the fall. Sophomore Hannah Richardson was the group’s leader on the trails as well as in the classroom as she was named to the individual All-Academic list. She tallied a GPA of 3.57 while also running to All-Big 12 and All-Region honors last fall.

Both the Kansas men’s and women’s cross country teams posted top-five finishes at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships for the first time in 10 seasons last fall. Buchanan nabbed an NCAA at-large bid at finishing in a team-high 12th place at the Midwest regional. He was also named the Big 12’s cross country scholar-athlete of the year by the league office.
 
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.