Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Earns All-Academic Honors
3/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern earned All-Academic Team honors and two Wildcats, Andrea Ostenso and Jena Pianin, distinguished themselves as All-Academic individual honorees for the 2014-15 cross country season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced recently.
The Wildcats earned the national distinction with a 3.29 team GPA. The Big Ten Conference and the Southeastern Conference led the country with 14 women's teams each earning All-Academic Team honors. To qualify for the national honor, a team must earn at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA and compete at the NCAA Regional Championship.
For the individual awards, Ostenso and Pianin were among 17 student-athletes from the Big Ten to receive the individual honor. To qualify, a student-athlete must have a 3.25 GPA or higher, be at least a sophomore and also finish among the top 15 places or among the top 10 percent of finishers at the NCAA Regional Championship.
Ostenso and Pianin both matched their classroom performance with a stellar sophomore campaign by finishing in NU's top-two in all six races they ran.
Ostenso, who is majoring in environmental science, paced Northwestern at the NCAA Midwest Regionals by recording a season-best and team-leading 6K time of 20:41.9, finishing 15th overall for her first career All-Region accolade.
Pianin, majoring in history with a minor in business institutions, earned NCAA All-Midwest Region honors by placing 16th at the regional meet with a time of 20:43.3. She recorded her best 6K time of 20:42.0 at the Big Ten Championships, which put her at the top among Wildcats and 22nd overall.
The USTFCCCA released a complete list of the All-Academic Team and Individual Honorees and may be accessed using the following links:
Individual Release:http://www.ustfccca.org/2015/02/awards/di-cross-country-scholar-athletes-of-the-year-cheserek-avery-headline-all-academic-individuals
