Rotich Named Division I Cross Country Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year

NEW ORLEANS – Anthony Rotich of UTEP was named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2012 cross country season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). This fall, Rotich finished fourth at the DI NCAA Cross Country Championships.

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 – Anthony Rotich, UTEP

Rotich, a second-year pre-nursing major from Eldoret, Kenya, has earned a 3.86 cumulative grade point average through the fall semester of 2012.

A freshman in cross country, Rotich was the top freshman at the DI NCAA Cross Country Championships, finishing fourth in 29:13.5 over the 10k course. He was the first UTEP Miner men’s runner to record a top-four finish since Zak Barie claimed the individual title in 1983.

He finished runner-up to eventual national champion Kennedy Kithuka of Texas Tech in the Mountain Regional, and won individual titles at the Conference USA Championships and at Pre-Nationals.

Past Winners

2012: Anthony Rotich, UTEP
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

67 Earn All-Academic Status

In addition to the Scholar Athlete of the Year, the USTFCCCA also announced those men who earned 2012 Division I All-Academic Cross Country status.

A total of 67 student-athletes represent the 40 institutions that compose the group. Tulsa, Iona, Oklahoma, Georgetown, and Virginia each had four squad members named to the All-Academic list to lead the rest of the country. The Big East and Big Ten each tallied eight on the All-Academic list to top the conference list and they were followed by the ACC and Big 12 with seven apiece.

Thirteen of the top 25 finishers from the NCAA Cross Country Championships in the fall earned All-Academic honors. In addition, Tulsa’s Andrew Heyes and Iona’s Daniel Clorley were reported to have cumulative GPAs of 4.0 through the fall 2012 semester. Heyes placed 44th overall at the NCAA National Championships.

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 2012.

USTFCCCA 2012 Division I Men’s Cross Country All-Academic Honorees