NEW ORLEANS, La. ---The Santa Clara University men's and women's cross country teams were honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on February 17th with the All-Academic team award. The Bronco men placed thrd at the WCC Cross Country Championships in October. As a team the Bronco men maintain a GPA of 3.36. The women's team placed fourth at the WCC Championships and maintain a GPA of 3.30.

Bronco head coach, Felipe Montoro says succeeding academically is just as important as succeeding athletically in SCU's cross country program.

"Being excellent in the class room in addition to their running careers is an expectation of the program," said Montoro. "I am very proud of all the members of the cross country team for maintaining such a high level of academic achievement."

A total of 152 institutions representing 31 different conferences compose the group of honorees. The Big 12 led all conferences with 10 members earning All-Academic honors.  They were followed by the Big East which had nine.

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.

San Francisco, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, and Portland were the WCC member schools to earn the award this season.