USTFCCCA News & Notes
David McNeill of Northern Arizona Named Division I Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
NEW ORLEANS – David McNeill of Northern Arizona has been named as Division I’s male cross country Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2009 season as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday. McNeill is also among 58 given All-Academic status for the previous cross country season for their efforts in the classroom and on nation’s cross country courses.
McNeill, a junior from Melbourne, Australia, has a 3.75 cumulative GPA in Exercise Science. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year award goes to the highest individual finisher from the previous year’s NCAA Cross Country Championship among those given USTFCCCA All-Academic status.
This fall, McNeill placed second at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., to follow up a NCAA Mountain Region title. McNeill was named as the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Athlete of the Year after he won his region for the second-straight year. In this year’s regional race, McNeill used the final 1000 meters to open a 12-second gap on the field. McNeill also won the Big Sky Cross Country Championship for the second-straight year, doing so in 2009 by 56 seconds.
The award honors those student-athletes who have succeeded both academically and athletically. To be eligible for the award a student-athlete must carry a minimum 3.25 cumulative grade point average and must finish among the top 15 finishers (or top 10 percent) of the field at their respective NCAA regional meet.
The 58 USTFCCCA All-Academic honorees represent 35 schools around the country.
The list also includes five regional champions and seven who finished in the nation’s top 10 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Iona and Stanford each placed four as All-Academic honorees while national champion Oklahoma State had three.
The Big 12 and the Pac-10 each had seven of its conference members reach All-Academic status while the BIG EAST had six.
The female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in Division I is Illinois’ Angela Bizzarri. Those institutions given All-Academic Team status will be named on Wednesday, March 3 (women) and Friday, March 5 (men).
USTFCCCA 2009 Division I Cross Country All-Academic Honorees, MEN
* Reported having a 4.0 cumulative GPA
^ Scholar-Athlete of the Year
| ATHLETE | MAJOR | INSTITUTION |
| Brandon Bethke | Interdisciplinary Studies | Arizona State University |
| Miles Batty | Exercise Science | Brigham Young University |
| Tommy Gruenewald | Exercise Science | Brigham Young University |
| Andy Baker | Business | Butler University |
| Madison Roeder | Education | Butler University |
| Zach Gates | Undeclared | College of William and Mary |
| Brian Sklodowski | Finance | College of William and Mary |
| Brendan Martin | Economics | Columbia University |
| Tom Robbins | Chemistry | Dartmouth College |
| Chris Zablocki | History | Dartmouth College |
| Bo Waggoner | Mathematics | Duke University |
| Matthew Leeder | Psychology | Florida State University |
| Andrew Bumbalough | Professional Studies | Georgetown University |
| Mark Dennin | Undeclared | Georgetown University |
| Daniel Chenoweth | sociology | Harvard University |
| Zachary Mayhew | Business | Indiana University, Bloomington |
| Andrew Poore | Mathematics | Indiana University, Bloomington |
| Thorsten Baumeister | Undeclared | Iona College |
| Matthew Bayley | Accounting | Iona College |
| Ryan Sheridan | History | Iona College |
| Alexander Soderberg | Chemistry | Iona College |
| Hillary Bor | Accounting | Iowa State University |
| Tyler Jones | Information Technology | La Salle University |
| Evans Kosgei | Computer Science Engineering | Lehigh University |
| Moldovan Bobby | Elementary Education | North Carolina State University |
| Patrick Campbell | Biological Sciences | North Carolina State University |
| David McNeill^ | Exercise Science | Northern Arizona University |
| German Fernandez | Sociology | Oklahoma State University |
| Colby Lowe | Sports Management | Oklahoma State University |
| Ryan Vail | International Studies | Oklahoma State University |
| Rob Speare | Physics | Princeton University |
| Caden Shields | Bio-Chemistry | Purdue University |
| Chris Derrick | undeclared | Stanford University |
| Elliott Heath | Biomechanical Engineering | Stanford University |
| Justin Marpole-Bird | International Relations | Stanford University |
| Miles Unterreiner | Undeclared | Stanford University |
| DuPont Patrick | Music Composition | Syracuse University |
| Jeff Scull | Exercise Science | Syracuse University |
| Mitch Bible | Mechanical Engineering | Texas A&M University, College Station |
| Joe Sauvageau | Petroleum Engineering | Texas A&M University, College Station |
| Jeff See | Marketing | The Ohio State University |
| Taylor Williams | Electrical/Mechanical Engineering | The Ohio State University |
| Lane Boyer | Geology | University of Arkansas, Fayetteville |
| Solomon Haile | undeclared | University of Arkansas, Fayetteville |
| Marco Anzures | History | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Michael Eaton | Exercise Science | University of Louisville |
| Cory Thorne | Management | University of Louisville |
| Barnabas Kirui | Banking and Finance | University of Mississippi |
| Chris Barnicle | Lang., Lit., and Soc. Studies | University of New Mexico |
| Rory Fraser | Physical Education | University of New Mexico |
| Rob Sorrell | Aviation | University of Oklahoma |
| Luke Puskedra | History | University of Oregon |
| Tommy Betterbed | Business Administration | University of Portland |
| Joash Osoro | Business | University of Portland |
| John Beattie | Business Administration | University of Tulsa |
| Hugo Beamish | English | Villanova University |
| Mathew Mildenhall | Business | Villanova University |
| Devin Cornwall | Marketing | Virginia Tech |