WCC Men's Release | WCC Women's Release | WCC Championships Preview
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On the eve of the 2015 West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships, three Santa Clara runners have been named to the WCC All-Academic team, announced by the conference Friday. Men's runners Bryan Crook and Ryan Greenough earn the honor for the second straight year, while Karen Mac makes the team during her first eligible year as a sophomore.
Santa Clara is one of four men's programs with multiple players to garner All-Academic recognition, and is the only program with multiple players selected to the All-Academic Team for the second year in a row.
Seven additional Broncos received All-Academic Honorable Mention recognition: Matt Burke, Andrew Melendez, Noah Westfall, Mary Kriege, Kaitlyn Kuehn, Allison Martinez and Marisa Rudolph.
At the conclusion of each athletic season, the WCC selects an all-academic squad for each WCC-sponsored sport. To be considered, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, while also being a significant contributor to his or her team.
"This isn't entirely unique to this year's team, but the Bronco cross country culture and the students we've had over the years, in general, have always been exceptionally proud of their academics, and the academic records are evidence to that," associate head coach Pete Cushman said. "They continue to embody the complete package that we want in all of our student-athletes. They work very hard as athletes, and they work very hard in the classroom every day."
Men's All-Academic Selections - GPA - Major
Bryan Crook - 3.86 - Biology
Ryan Greenough - 3.93 - Mechanical Engineering
Women's All-Academic Selections
Karen Mac - 3.93 - Biochemistry
Honorable Mention Selections
Matt Burke - 3.70 - Mechanical Engineering
Andrew Melendez - 3.61 - Political Science
Noah Westfall - 3.49 - Philosophy
Mary Kriege - 3.28 - Business Accounting
Kaitlyn Kuehn - 3.79 - English/Environmental Studies
Allison Martinez - 3.83 - Political Science
Marisa Rudolph - 3.53 - Environmental Science/Political Science
Crook and Greenough also earned All-Academic Honorable Mention honors in 2013. Kriege received her third Honorable Mention ('12, '13) and Kuehn received her second ('14).
"I think what we are most proud of is how I never hear anyone on the team complain about their academic workload," Cushman said. "We rarely have anyone too stressed or overloaded with schoolwork to practice, and I admire that about them above all else. These guys and girls are experts in time management, stress management and hard work."
The Broncos race at the conference championships Saturday in Spokane, Wash.; the women's 6k is scheduled for 10 a.m. and the men's 8k is set for 11 a.m.
