Friday, November 30, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – Perfect in the classroom and among the top runners in the conference, Central Washington senior Alexa Shindruk and Western Oregon senior Tyler Jones lead the honorees named to the 2018 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Cross Country All-Academic Team.

Both athletes earned at-large invitations to this weekend’s NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships and both own a cumulative 4.00 grade point average in the classroom. Shindruk, who majors in accounting, was the runner-up at the GNAC Championships, covering the 6,000-meter course in a time of 21:31.1. She went on claim All-West Region honors with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA West Regional Championships in Billings, running 21:57.52 to earn the nationals berth.

Jones, a mathematics major, placed fifth at the GNAC Championships in a time of 24:53.0 over 8,000 meters. He then earned the West Region’s second automatic individual qualifying position for the national meet, placing ninth in a time of 21:12.85 over 10,000 meters to earn All-West Region honors.

Shindruk and Jones are among four GNAC runners to own a 4.00 GPA. They are joined by Northwest Nazarene junior Bethany Danner and Concordia senior Dalen Richardson, who is a rare four-time selection to the team as is Alaska senior Daniel Serventi.

A total of 43 women and 38 men were named to the All-Academic Team, which recognizes student-athletes who are of sophomore standing or greater, on the team roster for the full season, are in at least their second season at the nominating institution and have a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or greater.

The four 4.00 GPAs are among a total of 31 runners, 21 women and 10 men, with a GPA of 3.80 or higher. This year’s team features a total of 43 repeat selections (29 women, 14 men) and 12 three-time selections (9 women, 3 men).

Western Oregon leads all GNAC teams with 15 selections (9 men, 6 women). Western Washington finished with 12 selections, six of each gender.

2018 GNAC CROSS COUNTRY ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

* - 2017 All-Academic Selection
+ - 2016 All-Academic Selection
# - 2015 All-Academic Selection