Feb. 27, 2008

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton men's and women's cross country teams were both honored as United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division I All-Academic Teams on Wednesday. Both programs were among those Division I cross country teams to receive the honor as the women's team posted a team GPA of 3.54 and the men earned a cumulative 3.34 during the fall 2007 semester.

In all, 158 Division I women's programs and 98 men's programs received the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honor. There are 325 teams in Division I that sponsor women's cross country. Of the 158 teams on the list, 35 of them had team GPAs over 3.50. The UD women's team was one of them, boasting a 3.54 cumulative team GPA. Eleven of the 15 member squad is on the dean's list at Dayton.

Overall, 98 men's Division I programs received the USTFCCCA's academic honor, which is just under a third of all Division schools that sponsor men's cross country (299). The Flyers men's squad posted a 3.34 GPA during the fall 2007 semester and has seven of its runners on the dean's list. Junior Flyer Matthew Peters was recently honored as the Presidential Outstanding Scholar-Athlete holding a 3.82 grade point average as a mechanical engineering major.

For a team to be considered for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, they must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Meet. The team must also have a minimum 3.00 team cumulative grade point average.