2018 NCAA DIII Cross Country Team Academic Awards

NEW ORLEANS – North Central (Ill.)’s men and Washington (Mo.)’s women aren’t strangers to being named NCAA Division III Cross Country Scholar Teams of the Year.

Both not only excelled on the grass circuit – winning their respective gender’s national title this past November – but also stood out in the classroom as well. That’s why the Cardinals and the Bears took home Scholar Team of the Year honors on Thursday, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

For a team to be considered for this honor, it must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional meet and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.10 on a 4.0 scale. Overall, there were 393 teams honored by the USTFCCCA, of which 215 were women’s teams.

North Central (Ill.) made it look easy once again at NCAAs. The Cardinals put four runners in the top-11 – led by Dhruvil Patel and Al Baldonado placing first and second, respectively – and scored just 43 points to win by 67.

This is the fourth time in the past five years that the Cardinals have been named Scholar Team of the Year (North Central (Ill.) also won in 2014, 2016 and 2017).

WashU fought tooth and nail for the team title, winning by just one point over Johns Hopkins. The Bears, led by Paige Lawler’s individual win, scored 98 points to the Blue Jays’ 98.

This is WashU’s second time being named Scholar Team of the Year in program history dating back to 2006, when the award made its debut.

Out of every team honored, no team had a higher GPA than the women from LeTourneau University (3.85). The highest GPA out of any men’s team went to MIT at 3.78.

See below for a full list of teams honored by the USTFCCCA.

2018 NCAA DIVISION III CROSS COUNTRY – ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS