Chalk up another first for Santa Clara!

For the first time in school history, Santa Clara's women's cross country runner Stephanie Wilson has been honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as a member of the national All-Academic team. She joins just two other runners from the West Coast Conference receiving the honor, Portland's Tommy Betterbed and Joash Osoro.

Wilson, a San Jose native, carries a 3.87 cumulative GPA as an English major. She collected a perfect 4.0 GPA in the 2009 Fall quarter. She was sixth overall at the 2009 NCAA West Regional and collected the school's first All-American honors in cross country with her 28th place finish at nationals.

In addition, the Bronco men's and women's cross country teams were also honored nationally as All-Academic teams. This is an honor the Broncos have received annually for a number of years. The men's team has a 3.24 cumulative GPA and the women's team has a 3.04 cumulative GPA.

"We take a lot of pride in being outstanding students at Santa Clara as well as outstanding distance runners. Both of the teams make this list on an annual basis and it's one of our team goals in our mission statements that are written during training camp in the late summer," said Bronco head coach Tom Service. "Our program has had a number of firsts in the last few years, including a Rhodes Scholar, our first NCAA track qualifier and this past fall, our first cross country All-American. Now, we have another first with Stephanie Wilson making the national All-Academic team. Many of our runners are taking a very rigorous academic load and continue to excel in the classroom as well as the cross country course. We have a bright future at Santa Clara."

To receive All-Academic honors, the student-athletes must have succeeded both academically and athletically. To be eligible for the award a student-athlete must carry a minimum 3.25 cumulative grade point average and must finish among the top 15 finishers (or top 10 percent) of the field at their respective NCAA regional meet.

For a team to be considered for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, they must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Championship and also have a minimum 3.00 team cumulative GPA.