Cross Country Men Lead Big 12 With Six On Academic Team

The Baylor men’s cross country team led the Big 12's 10 institutions with six student-athletes earning a spot on the Academic All-Big 12 first team, the league office announced Thursday. Meanwhile, the women’s squad had a pair of first-team selections for a total of eight Bears recognized.

BU has now led the Big 12 in most men’s overall and first-team selections for two straight years.

On the men's side, juniors Eric Anderson (economics) and Matthew Parham (biology) earned their second-straight first-team selections, while senior Matt League (biology) and sophomores Henry Huff (political science), Jeff Kirwin (English) and Sean McCullough (pre-biology) all earned their first academic cross country honors.

For the women, Peyton Thomas, an senior environmental science major, carded her third-straight first-team honor, while fellow senior Maggie Montoya (health science services) earned her second-consecutive Academic All-Big 12 recognition in cross country.

McCullough was among 16 runners across the conference that was nominated with a 4.0 grade point average.

A total of 44 student-athletes were honored on the men’s team, while 70 student-athletes make up the women’s team. Ninety-six of the 114 selections are first-team honorees.

First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second-team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of their team’s scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.