Dec. 9, 2011

IRVING, Texas - A total of 14 student-athletes were named to the 2011 Conference USA All-Academic Cross Country Teams, as selected by the league's sports information directors for the sport. The all-academic team consists of student-athletes who have earned a 3.2 cumulative grade point average or better and are a key member on their team. Eight seniors, five juniors and one sophomore make up the two honorary lists.

2011 C-USA Cross Country All-Academic Release_PDF Format

Rice led the way on both the men's and women's side with two honorees on each team. For the third consecutive season, juniors MATT CAREY and GABE CUADRA have earned C-USA All-Academic merits.

Carey brings a 4.254 GPA to the team as a economic major. A three-time C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal recipient, he has been named to the Rice University President's Honor Roll every semester as an Owl. Carey was voted to the 2011 Capitol One Academic All America second team and earned Academic All-District VI honors. On the course, he finished 26th at the C-USA Championship meet. Cuadra holds a 3.70 mark as a mathematical economic analysis major and is a three-time member of the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Tulsa also landed a pair of student-athletes on the academic list with seniors CARL STONES and BILL MARTIN. Stones, a 3.74 exercise sports science major, has appeared on the Dean's List five times. This season, Stones earned All-C-USA first team honors after placing fourth (24:01.5) at the C-USA Championship, a meet Tulsa won for the second consecutive season. He went on to finish 25th (31:55.15) at the NCAA Midwest Regional to receive All-Midwest Region honors. As a team, Tulsa competed at the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2008. A 3.92 biochemistry major, Martin repeats his all-academic honor from 2009. He earned All-C-USA third team honors after placing 19th (25:15.7) at the conference meet. Martin is also a member of the Golden Hurricane Dean's List.

The lone sophomore on this year's team, Memphis JAMES MAGLASANG has earned a 3.58 GPA as a biomedical engineering major. He appeared on the 2010-11 C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll. Maglasang was the team's top finisher at the conference meet as he placed 15th (24:39.0) for All-C-USA third team honors. He was named C-USA Athlete of the Week after winning the Rhodes College Invitational.

Houston's DAVID SMITH rounds out the men's All-Academic Team with a 3.61 GPA. An American sign language major, the junior holds the highest academic mark on the team and was the only Cougar to be named C-USA Athlete of the Week in 2011. He earned this honor after clocking the third-best time of 19:50 at the HBU Invitational. At the C-USA Championship he placed 16th with a time of 24:47 in the 8K, earning C-USA third team honors.

The 2011 Cross Country Women's All-Academic Team is led by C-USA Athlete of the Year and All-America SILJE FJORTOFT of SMU. The redshirt senior maintains a 3.84 GPA in applied physiology and sports management while winning the 2011 conference individual medalist honors. Fjortoft is also a three-time All-Academic selection and has appeared on the USTFCCCA All-Academic team twice. She's been honored as a member of SMU's Honor Roll with Distinction (top 10 percent) for the last seven semesters. On the course, there's little she hasn't accomplished. She concluded her collegiate cross country career with a 13th-place (15:58.1) and All-American finish at the NCAA Championship. Fjortoft is the only athlete in the South Central Region's history to have won the Regional title three times as well as earning Region Athlete of the Year each of those seasons. She's been voted C-USA Athlete of the Year twice (2009, 2011), and was the 2011 C-USA Outstanding Senior after she set a conference record with at the C-USA Championships (16:06.8).

Rice landed a pair of student-athletes on the women's team also as seniors ALLISON PYE and BECKY WADE were selected. Pye is a 3.99 kinesiology major who has appeared on the last three C-USA and USTFCCCA All-Academic teams, plus the last two All-District list. She placed 13th at the conference meet with a time of 17:12 to earn All-C-USA second team. With a 4.01 GPA as a history, sociology and psychology major, Wade has earned Rice's President's Honor Roll all eight semesters as well as appearing on the last two USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams and being Rice Scholar Athlete of the Year for her sport. She ended her career with a solid 23rd finish (20:10.8) at the 2011 NCAA Championship. Wade was also the first Owl to break the plane at the C-USA Championship as she placed fifth (16:57.1).

Senior PAULA WHITING represents Tulsa on the All-Academic team. The 3.95 psychology major picks up her second C-USA academic honor and is a four-time President's List selection. Whiting was the team's top finishers in all six races this season and qualified for the NCAA Championship as an at-large bid where she finished 49th (20:37.0). Whiting placed third at the C-USA Championship (16:43.6) and the NCAA Midwest Regional (20:54.33), earning All-C-USA first team honors and All-Midwest Region accolades for the second-straight year

Southern Miss junior STEPHANIE LEDGERWOOD sports a 3.95 in forensics science. She's a two-time All-Academic, Conference Medalist and Commissioner Honor Roll selection as well as USM's President's and Dean's List honoree. Ledgerwood was the top runner for the Golden Eagles this season as she earned All-C-USA second team merits after recording a season-best 5K of 17:37.8 that placed 13th at the conference championship.

UAB senior RHIANNON JOHNS repeats her selection for the second-straight season. Johns is a 4.00 mathematics major for the Blazers and a three-time C-USA Academic Medal and Commissioner Honor Roll recipient. She received CoSIDA Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-America second team honors in 2010. The Canadian was the first Blazer to cross the finish line at the conference meet with the ninth-best time of 17:33.70, earning All-C-USA second team honors.

Rounding out the 2011 C-USA Cross Country Women's All-Academic Team is UTEP junior RISPER KIMAIYO. She holds a 3.67 GPA in pre-nursing. The three-time All-America selection became the first woman in program and conference history to claim back-to-back Mountain Region titles. The 2010 C-USA Athlete of the Year clocked the 25th-best time of 20:12.7 at the NCAA Championship, giving her three Top 25 finishes at the national meet. She also took top honors for the second consecutive year at the 2011 Pre-National Invitational (20:19) and finished second at the C-USA Championship (16:14.7). Kimaiyo is involved in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Miner Gems, a mentoring program for young girls.

The men's and women's all-academic cross country teams are comprised of seven honorees, instead of six, due to a tie for the final spot.

2011 C-USA CROSS COUNTRY MEN'S ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
NAME	        SCHOOL	YEAR	GPA	MAJOR
*David Smith	Houston	Jr.	3.61	American Sign Language
James Maglasang	Memphis	So.	3.58	Biomedical Engineering
**Matt Carey	Rice	Jr.	4.254	Economics
**Gabe Cuadra	Rice	Jr.	3.76	Mathematical Economic Analysis
**Mike Mainguy	Tulane	Sr.	3.887	Neuroscience
*Bill Martin	Tulsa 	Sr.	3.92	Biochemistry
*Carl Stones	Tulsa	Sr.	3.74	Exercise Sports Science
2011 C-USA CROSS COUNTRY WOMEN'S ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
NAME	                SCHOOL	YEAR	GPA	MAJOR
**Allison Pye	        Rice	Sr.	3.99	Kinesiology
Rebecca Wade	        Rice	Sr.	4.01	History, Sociology, Psychology
***Silje Fjortoft       SMU	Sr.	3.84	Applied Physiology & Sports Management
*Stephanie Ledgerwood	USM	Jr.	3.95	Forensics Science
*Paula Whiting	        Tulsa	Sr.	3.95	Psychology
**Rhiannon Johns	UAB	Sr.	4.00	Mathematics
Risper Kimaiyo 	        UTEP	Jr.	3.67	Pre-Nursing

*Repeat Selection

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