NEW ORLEANS — BYU Men's Cross Country received team-wide All-Academic honors, while Lucas Bons, Joey Nokes and Kenneth Rooks earned individual recognition when the USTFCCCA announced its 2023 Academic Awards on Thursday afternoon.
2023 Cross Country Program Earns USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors
BYU Men's Cross Country received team-wide All-Academic honors, while Lucas Bons, Joey Nokes and Kenneth Rooks earned individual recognition when the USTFCCCA announced its 2023 Academic Awards on Thursday afternoon.
The Cougars earned All-Academic Team status by combining for a 3.488 cumulative GPA. The qualifications for the honor are based on achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Lucas Bons, Joey Nokes and Kenneth Rooks each recieved individual All-Acadmic honors for the 2023 season. Student-athletes qualify for the award with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale and top-25 finish at the NCAA Regional Championships or as an All-American at the NCAA Championships.
"Kenneth, Joey and Lucas are three of the best runners in the country and that takes a level of dedication that most will never understand," said BYU assistant coach Ryan Waite. "On top of that, they are some of the best students in their respective programs. The way they approach their sport is the same way they approach their academics, and that is why they will continue to be successful in whatever they do beyond school and beyond running."
Bons recieved individual All-Academic honors for the first time in his career. The junior mechanical engineering student earned the award with a 3.77 GPA in addition to finishing 17th overall at the NCAA Mountain Regionals. Bons clocked a 29:25.9 across the finish to put him in the top-25.
Nokes recieved his second straight All-Academic citation with a 3.67 cumulative GPA and 18th-place finish at the NCAA Mountain Regionals at 29:25.9. The junior from Riverton, Utah majores in exercise science and raced in all six meets for the Cougars throughout the 2023 campaign.
Rooks, a civil engineering major, received his second straight All-Academic honor as well with a 3.9 GPA. This also earned Rooks the NCAA Elite 90 Award which recognizes the highest GPA of an athlete at an NCAA Championship. Rooks ran a 29:42.9 across the finish to place 35th at nationals and achieve All-American status.
Bons, Nokes and Rooks each contributed to the Cougars third place team finish at the NCAA Championship.