2017 NCAA DI Cross Country Individual Academic Awards

NEW ORLEANS – History has a way of getting faster and repeating itself.

Grant Fisher and Ednah Kurgat found that out first-hand this year.

Fisher and Kurgat were named the NCAA Division I Scholar Athletes of the Year for the 2017 cross country season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Thursday.

USTFCCCA NCAA DIVISION I ALL-ACADEMIC HISTORY

There were 269 student-athletes named USTFCCCA All-Academic with women accounting for 63 percent of the total (169).

In order to qualify for the honor, athletes must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and finish in the top-25 (or 10 percent) at regionals or as an All-American in the national meet.

Perfect 4.0 GPAs were achieved by 30 athletes, up from 26 last year.

Fisher is the first back-to-back winner of this honor since fellow Cardinal Chris Derrick did so in 2010 and 2011. All told, a Stanford athlete has been named Male Scholar Athlete of the Year five times (Neftalem Araia is the other one not named Derrick or Fisher).

The junior from Grand Blanc, Michigan had a season to remember for the Cardinal. Fisher debuted at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational with a runner-up finish, won the Pac-12 individual title, placed 11th at the West Regional Championships and took fifth at NCAAs.

Kurgat wouldn’t be denied after returning from a redshirt year.

The sophomore from Eldoret, Kenya went undefeated with wins at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, Mountain West Championships, Mountain Region Championships and finally the NCAA Championships.

It was in Louisville, Kentucky where Kurgat shattered the meet record for a winning time. She covered the 6K course in 19:19.5, nearly eight seconds ahead of Amy-Eloise Neale. That low stick sent Kurgat’s Lady Lobos to the national title.

Kurgat is the first New Mexico athlete to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year as well as the first from the Mountain West Conference.

The full list of student-athletes honored by the USTFCCCA can be found below.