NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named BYU men’s cross country the 2018 NCAA Division I Cross Country Scholar Team of the Year.
The Cougars earned the award for the first time in program history. Honorees are selected by being the top finishing team from their gender with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. The men’s team finished as the national runner-up at the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships and had a cumulative GPA of 3.42.
In addition, the BYU women’s cross country team was honored as a 2018 NCAA Division I Cross Country All-Academic team by the USTFCCCA. The team finished seventh overall at Nationals and had an average GPA of 3.44.
BYU also had three members of the men’s team and two members of the women’s team receive USTFCCCA All-Academic honors. Student-athlete nominations for the individual honors must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and have finished in the top 25 (top 10 percent) at regionals or as an All-American at nationals (top-40 finish).
Jacob Heslington, Conner Mantz and Clayson Shumway received the academic honors for the men’s team. Mantz took sixth at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships and placed 10th at Nationals to be the first Cougar to cross the finish line in both races. The freshman All-American is majoring in mechanical engineering.
Shumway qualified for the honor, finishing 15th at regionals and by receiving All-America honors after his 32nd-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The junior is majoring in economics. Heslington finished 18th overall for BYU at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships and is majoring in mechanical engineering.
Erica Birk-Jarvis and Olivia Hoj earned All-Academic honors from the USTFCCCA. Birk-Jarvis led the Cougars at both the Mountain Region Championships and NCAA Championships after finishing third and seventh, respectively. The junior All-American is majoring in family life. Hoj received the academic honor for the second year in a row after finishing in the top 25 at the NCAA Mountain Regionals both years. At the 2018 regional meet, the junior public health major took 23rd overall for BYU.
The full release of the 2018 NCAA Division I All-Academic honorees can be found on ustfccca.org.