Villanova’s Sheila Reid Adds D-I Scholar Athlete of the Year to 2010 Cross Country Scrapbook

NEW ORLEANS – Sheila Reid of Villanova University was named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Women’s Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2010 cross country season on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Reid was the individual national champion at the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships in the fall and led the Wildcats to a team national title as well.

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 Women’s Scholar Athlete of the Year – Sheila Reid, Villanova

Reid, a senior from Newmarket, Ontario, not only won her first NCAA national cross country crown in the fall, but she also led the Wildcats of Villanova to their second-straight, and eighth overall, NCAA team title.

Reid has earned a 3.37 cumulative GPA and majors in English.

At the NCAA meet, with a 20:06.9 run in the 6k race, she topped Georgetown’s Emily Infeld by just over two seconds in the closest finish in NCAA women’s Division I history. Reid was also the first since Villanova’s Jennifer Rhines to win the individual NCAA title while leading their team to victory. Reid also won the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional by 16 seconds to win a second-consecutive region title. Reid was also this year’s Big East Conference champion and a winner at the Penn State National.

Past Winners

99 Earn All-Academic Status

In addition to the Scholar Athlete of the Year, the USTFCCCA also announced those women who earned 2010 Division I All-Academic Cross Country status.

A total of 99 student-athletes represent 62 institutions that compose the group. Syracuse led all teams with five All-Academic nods while Florida State followed with four. Among all conferences, the Big East picked 16 plaudits while the Big 12 was next in line with 15.

Six of the top ten finishers at the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships earned All-Academic status, including Reid, Jordan Hasay (Oregon), Risper Kimaiyo (UTEP), Lucy Van Dalen (Stony Brook), Holly Van Dalen (Stony Brook), and Amanda Marino (Villanova). In addition, six of nine NCAA Regional Champions from the 2010 season earned All-Academic standing.

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 2010.

USTFCCCA 2010 Division I Cross Country All-Academic Honorees, WOMEN