KU Cross Country Earns All-Academic Honors

NEW ORLEANS – The University of Kansas men’s and women’s cross country teams earned All-Academic Team honors for the 2016 season, it was announced by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). KU seniors Malika Baker and Hannah Richardson also claimed Individual All-Academic honors. It marked the first selection for the Jayhawk duo.
 
To be eligible for the award, a team must have a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA and must have had at least five runners compete at the NCAA regional championship meet in November. KU was one of seven teams in the Big 12 Conference to see both its men’s and women’s teams earn the distinction. The Jayhawk women amassed a GPA of 3.55, while the women ended the fall semester with a 3.03 cumulative GPA. The women’s squad garnered the honor for the eighth-straight season, while the KU men earned the distinction for the seventh-consecutive year.

Baker and Richardson not only excelled on the cross country trails, but in the classroom as well  during their final seasons with the Jayhawks. The Kansas duo was among KU’s top-four finishers in four meets on the year, with both earning All-Region honors. Richardson posted a career-best 11th-place finish at the Midwest Regional in Iowa City, Iowa and was followed closely by Baker who finished 19th, also the highest finish of her career at the Regional Championships.
 
In order to qualify for the individual honor, athletes must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and finish in the top-25 (or 10 percent) at regionals or as an All-American at the national meet.
  
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