Jones, Hackett Named 2017 Cross Country Student-Athletes of the Year
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – McNeese senior Nathan Jones and Abilene Christian graduate student Alexandria Hackett are the 2017 Southland Conference Cross Country Student-Athletes of the Year, the league announced Monday along with the All-Academic First and Second Teams. Southland yearly awards are presented by
Ready Nutrition.
Jones, a senior from Rhyl, Wales, holds a perfect 4.00 grade point average with a major in health education. One of the top runners in the Southland Conference and the South Central Region, he placed second at the Southland championship meet to pace the Cowboys to a first-place tie on team points. He went on to earn NCAA All-South Central Region honors with a 10th-place individual finish, helping the Cowboys place fourth in the team standings.
Hackett holds a 3.98 GPA in finance management. The graduate student out of Cranston, R.I., took the top finish at this year’s Southland race and capped her cross country career with a 107th-place finish out of 255 competitors at the NCAA Championships.
McNeese men lead with three total selections while UIW and Lamar both earned a pair of picks. Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi all earned lone selections to the men’s second team.
Abilene Christian women lead with four honorees, including three on the first team. UIW women also earned two selections while Lamar, McNeese, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin all earned one all-academic pick.
A total of three men and three women on the all-academic teams hold perfect 4.00 GPAs.
Southland Conference All-Academic Teams are voted upon by a head coach, sports information director and academic/compliance staff member from each school. Student-Athletes of the Year are voted upon by an awards committee which consists of one administrator from each member school. Voting for one’s own athletes is not permitted.
To be eligible for all-academic distinction, an athlete must hold a minimum 3.00 cumulative grade point average through the semester prior to the sport’s championship, completed at least one full academic year at the nominating school prior to the current season, and participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s competitions during the most recently completed season.
Student-Athlete of the Year nominees must have hold at least a 3.20 GPA and have completed at least two years of athletic competition at the nominating school, including the current season.
First Team All-Conference athletes (top five finishers at the Southland Cross Country Championships) who meet all-academic nomination criteria are automatically named First Team All-Academic.
Men’s Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year: Nathan Jones, McNeese
Men’s Cross Country All-Academic First Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Nathan Jones* |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Rhyl, Wales |
4.00 |
Health Education |
| Enrique Soto* |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Dubberly, La. |
3.13 |
Secondary Education |
| Garett Cortez* |
UIW |
Jr. |
Schertz, Texas |
3.83 |
Business Administration |
| Freddie Gasbarri |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Chieti, Italy |
4.00 |
Engineering Science |
| Oliver James |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Sunderland, England |
4.00 |
Health & Human Performance |
Men’s Cross Country All-Academic Second Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Cormac Kelly |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Carlow, Ireland |
3.60 |
Business Administration |
| Ryan Cleary |
Abilene Christian |
Sr. |
Prosper, Texas |
3.82 |
Accounting |
| Marek Spriestersbach |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Jr. |
Obernisen, Germany |
3.94 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Markus Schweikert |
Central Arkansas |
Jr. |
Spay, Germany |
3.82 |
Marketing |
| Chris Winski |
UIW |
Jr. |
Katy, Texas |
3.98 |
Biology |
Women’s Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year: Alexandria Hackett, Abilene Christian
Women’s Cross Country All-Academic First Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Alexandria Hackett* |
Abilene Christian |
Gr. |
Cranston, R.I. |
3.98 |
Finance Management |
| Michaela Hackett* |
Abilene Christian |
Gr. |
Cranston, R.I. |
3.98 |
Finance Management |
| Diana Garcia-Munoz* |
Abilene Christian |
Gr. |
Phoenix, Ariz. |
3.82 |
Accounting |
| Katja Woelfl* |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Ellhofen, Germany |
4.00 |
Business Administration |
| Keila Rodriguez |
UIW |
Gr. |
Brownsville, Texas |
3.91 |
Optometry |
Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Second Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Emily Wilson |
UIW |
Jr. |
New Braunfels, Texas |
3.99 |
Biology |
| Carnley Graham |
Abilene Christian |
Jr. |
Prosper, Texas |
3.91 |
Environmental Sciences |
| Evelyn Chavez |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Porter, Texas |
3.30 |
Nursing |
| Taryn Surratt |
Stephen F. Austin |
So. |
Webster, Texas |
4.00 |
Vocal Performance |
| Kassandra Luna |
Sam Houston State |
Jr. |
Houston, Texas |
4.00 |
Interdisciplinary Studies |
* Automatic selection; 2017 First Team All-Conference