Men's Cross Country Program Recognized For Academic Performance
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) honored the UW-Oshkosh men's cross country program for its academic success during the 2019 fall semester.
Head coach Eamon McKenna's Titans compiled a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (GPA) as one of 172 NCAA Division III men's cross country programs that ended the recent fall session with a GPA of 3.10 or better.
Middlebury College (Vt.) compiled a Division III-leading GPA of 3.80 last fall while California Institute of Technology followed at 3.71, Lewis & Clark College (Ore.) at 3.70 and both Swarthmore College (Pa.) and Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) at 3.69.
Other WIAC programs cited for their academic performance were UW-Eau Claire at 3.42, UW-La Crosse and UW-Stout at 3.40, UW-Whitewater at 3.36, UW-Platteville at 3.21 and UW-Stevens Point at 3.08.
National champion Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Calif.) accumulated a 3.66 GPA this past fall and was named the USTFCCA's NCAA Division III Scholar Team of the Year. The Sagehens, coached by former UW-Oshkosh cross country and track & field standout Jordan Carpenter, won their first Division III title this past November in Louisville, Ky.
UW-Oshkosh also had juniors Cody Chadwick and Andrew George named to the USTFCCA's All-Academic Team.
Chadwick, who owns a 3.33 cumulative GPA as an accounting major, earned All-America honors last fall with his 21st-place finish at the Division III Championship. Chadwick, the Titans' lone representative at the national meet, completed the 8,000-meter race in a time of 24:50. He became UW-Oshkosh's first All-American since Carpenter finished 13th at the 2015 Division III Championship.
Chadwick also placed 11th last fall at the Division III Midwest Regional, eighth at the WIAC Championship, first at the UW-Parkside Vic Godfrey Open, 25th at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational, 26th at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational and 27th at the UW-Oshkosh Kollege Town Sports Invitational.
George, who holds a 3.32 cumulative GPA as an education major, finished 33rd at the Division III Midwest Regional and 29th at the WIAC Championship last fall. He also placed seventh at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Fall Classic, 17th at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational, 34th at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational and 108th at the UW-Oshkosh Kollege Town Sports Invitational.
Chadwick and George helped UW-Oshkosh finish fourth at the WIAC Championship and seventh at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional last fall.
In order to be eligible for All-Academic recognition, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of least 3.30 and finish in the top 25 percent at their respective regional meet. A total of 309 student-athletes received All-Academic honors, including 18 from the WIAC.
Patrick Watson of Stevenson University (Md.) was named the USTFCCA's NCAA Division III Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
2019 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Awards • NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country
2019 USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual Awards • NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country