Sooners Pick Up Academic Honors

NORMAN – Their last race was more than two months ago but the University of Oklahoma men's and women's cross country teams are still making news. The latest came when both the men's and the women's teams were named Scholar Athlete teams by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

In addition to the awards for the two teams, senior Eric Alldritt was named to the men's All-Academic team as an individual.

This marks the third consecutive year for the women to be recognized and second consecutive for the men. It also is the fourth honor for the men in the last five years. To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic cross country team, the team must have had a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or better and have started at least five runners at their respective NCAA regional championship. Overall, there were 431 teams that earned distinction from the USTFCCCA for their efforts both athletically and academically. Of those 431 teams, 242 were women's and 189 were men's.

The OU women finished the fall semester with a 3.42 GPA with the men earning a 3.02.

This marks Alldritt's first individual academic award from the USTFCCCA as he was part of last year's team award. The Bend, Ore., native earned All-Midwest Region honors last fall after finishing 24^th. He was a two-time first team Academic All-Big 12 honoree and earned All-Big 12 honors in 2015. He is a petroleum engineering major.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic track and field team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have either earned USTFCCCA All-America status or finished in the NCAA region's top 25 (or top 10 percent) in 2016. A total of 265 student-athletes were honored for their athletic and academic performance.

Players Mentioned

Eric Alldritt

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics