Haebe Adds Scholar-Athlete of the Year Honors to NCAA Individual, Team Crowns

NEW ORLEANS – Ryan Haebe of Western State was named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2011 cross country season on Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Haebe was the NCAA Division II cross country champion and led Western State to their first NCAA team title since 2005.

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 II
Cross Country Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year – Ryan Haebe, Western State

Haebe, a sophomore from Evergreen, Colo., has a 3.74 cumulative-GPA through the 2011 fall semester, studying history and education.

In the fall, Haebe won the NCAA Division II individual men’s title in 30:45.1, three seconds ahead of teammate Tyler Pennel. Together, the duo helped lead a 1-2-5-7-13 Western State finish which resulted in the school’s first national title in men’s cross country since 2005.

Haebe became the first individual national champion for the Mountaineer men since 2001, and only the second student-athlete in Western State history to win a men’s cross country national championship. Michael Aish won national titles in 1999 and 2001.

Earlier in the fall, Haebe placed fourth in the RMAC Championships, helping the team to the conference title. Haebe did not participate in the NCAA Central Regional.

Past Winners

2011: Ryan Haebe, Western State
2010: Jeff Veiga, UMass Lowell
2009: Reuben Mwei, Adams State
2008: Aaron Braun, Adams State
2007: Aaron Braun, Adams State
2006: Kim Hogarth, Western State

208 Earn All-Academic Status

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

A total of 208 student-athletes represent the 101 institutions that compose the group. Bentley, Central Missouri, and Mars Hill led all squads with five named to the All-Academic list. Another 13 schools had four named to the roll.

Among conferences, the PSAC had the most named to the list with 27. The Northeast-10 and GLIAC followed with 21 and 19, respectively.

Four of the top six finishers from the national championship race – including Haebe, Pennel, Adams State’s Matt Bond and Tabor Stevens – earned All-Academic nods.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team in Division II, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or greater through the most-recent semester, completed at least 12 credit hours in the semester of cross country competition, and placed in the top 50 percent at the most recent NCAA National Championships or in the top 30 percent at the NCAA Regional Championships.

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