NEW ORLEANS – Williams College sophomore Jen Gossels (Sudbury, MA) has been named the Division III Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year in Cross Country it was announced by the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association of America.
Scholar Athletes are determined from among those who earned All-Academic status and placed highest individually at the most recent NCAA Championships.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division III
Cross Country Women's Scholar Athlete of the Year – Jennifer Gossels, Williams
Gossels has tallied a 4.00 cumulative GPA in her academic career as a mathematics/computer science major. Gossels finished second overall at the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships and was named the USTFCCCA New England Region Athlete of the Year for the 2010 cross country season. Gossels won the NCAA New England Region title by seven seconds and the season's NESCAC title by 10 seconds.
As a first year Gossels earned All-NESCAC First Team honors and finished 49th at the NCAA Division III Championships. This past fall she repeated on the NESCAC First Team and was also named the conference's Most Outstanding Performer.
Past Winners
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2010: Jennifer Gossels, Williams |
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2009: Marie Borner, Bethel (Minn.) |
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2008: Elise Tropiano, Amherst |
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2007: Sarah Zerzan, Willamette |
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2006: Sarah Zerzan, Willamette |
170 Earn All-Academic Status
In addition to the Scholar Athlete of the Year, the USTFCCCA also announced those women who earned 2010 Division III All-Academic Cross Country status.
A total of 170 student-athletes represent the 82 institutions that compose the group. Luther and Calvin led the country with six representatives on the list apiece. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Emory followed with five each. The University Athletic Association (UAA) led all conferences with 16 All-Academic nods while the SCIAC followed with 14.
Six of the top ten finishers at the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships earned All-Academic status, including Gossels, Jennifer Tave (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps), Annie Lydens (Pomona-Pitzer), Emma Lee (St. Olaf), Christina Cazzola (UW Oshkosh), and Taryn Surtees (Washington (Mo.)). In addition, six of eight NCAA Regional Champions from the 2010 season earned All-Academic honors.
Eph teammates Celeste Berg, Chiara Del Piccolo and Lauren Goldstein-Kral join Gossels in earning All-Acadmic honors.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or greater through the most-recent semester and placed in the top 35 at the NCAA Regional Championships.
