LOGAN, Utah – Utah State's men's and women's cross country programs were honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their performance both on the course and in the classroom during the 2020 season.
Both the USU men's team (3.71) and the women's team (3.75) were recognized for notching a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 or higher.
Individually, Utah State senior
Katie Haviland earned USTFCCCA accolades on the women's side for maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and qualifying for the national championship meet.
Overall, there were 269 women in Division I who were named all-academic individuals.
On the men's side, seven Aggies were recognized for their excellence in the class room as sophomore
Bridger Altice, senior
Haydon Cooper, junior
Mark Crandall, junior
Caleb Garnica, junior
Darren Harman, sophomore
Spencer Nelson and sophomore
Camren Todd were part of 187 individuals who garnered all-academic accolades.
Utah State led all men's programs with those seven honorees, followed by BYU, Iona and Tulsa with six each.
Utah State's men's team earned its best-ever finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships, which took place last month at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla.
The 21st-ranked Aggies scored 351 points to place 11th overall, surpassing their previous best championship finish of 16th in 2019. Utah State beat 15 ranked teams, including 10 that were ranked ahead of them.
Garnica, a junior, crossed the finish line in 30 minutes, 31.2 seconds to place 28th in the men's 10-kilometer race and earn All-American status (given to the top 40 finishers). Todd narrowly missed giving Utah State a pair of All-Americans as he placed 42nd with a time of 30:50.2.
Haviland represented Utah State's women's team as an individual after she garnered second-team all-Mountain West honors by placing eighth at the conference championships. At the NCAA Championships, she placed 43rd in the 6K race with a time of 21:01.6.
Fans can follow the Utah State track & field and cross country programs at twitter.com/USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at instagram.com/USUTF_XC. Aggies fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
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