Stanford’s Chris Derrick is DI Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year Once Again

NEW ORLEANS – Chris Derrick of Stanford University was named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2011 cross country season on Friday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Derrick was the NCAA Division I cross country national runner-up during the 2011 fall season. Derrick also won the same award for the 2010 season.

Scholar Athletes are determined from among those who earned All-Academic status and placed highest individually at the most recent NCAA Championships.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division I
Cross Country Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year – Chris Derrick, Stanford

Derrick, a senior from Naperville, Ill., has tallied a 3.87 cumulative GPA through the 2011 fall semester in the study of economics.

Derrick took runner-up honors at the NCAA Championships, NCAA West Regional, and the Pac-12 Championships this fall.

Stanford has won three of the last six awards in the category. As a league, the Pac-12 Conference has won five of the last six Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards for men’s Division I cross country.

Past Winners

2011: Chris Derrick, Stanford
2010: Chris Derrick, Stanford
2009: David McNeill, Northern Arizona
2008: Galen Rupp, Oregon
2007: Galen Rupp, Oregon
2006: Neftalem Araia, Stanford

58 Earn All-Academic Status

In addition to the Scholar Athlete of the Year, the USTFCCCA also announced those men who earned 2011 Division I All-Academic Cross Country status.

A total of 58 student-athletes represent the 36 institutions that compose the group. Oklahoma and Georgetown were the leading squads with four named to the All-Academic list. UNCG, BYU, and Oklahoma State followed with three apiece.

Big East Conference institutions claimed the most All-Academic nods among leagues with ten. The Big 12 followed with eight.

Twelve of the top 25 finishers at the NCAA Cross Country Championships earned All-Academic mentions.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have either earned USTFCCCA All-America status or finished in the NCAA region’s top 15 (or top 10 percent) in 2011.

USTFCCCA 2011 Division I Cross Country All-Academic Honorees, MEN