ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon men's cross country program has been named an NCAA Division II All-Academic team by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 13th consecutive season. Led by 27th-year head coach
John Carrig, the Golden Knights produced the third-highest cumulative team grade point average in the country.
The selection of all-academic teams was based on cumulative grade point averages submitted by member head coaches for the fall 2016 academic term. All teams which scored at their respective NCAA regional championship and had a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or better were honored for their classroom performances.
Union (Tenn.) recorded the best team grade point average in the nation with a 3.76 cumulative mark. Valdosta State (Ga.) (3.72), Gannon (3.69) and Maryville (Mo.) (3.60) completed the top four. Drury (Mo.), Florida Institute of Technology and Georgia College and State tied for fifth place with 3.57 team cumulative grade point averages.
Gannon has been one of the nation's best academic programs for years, finishing among the top four team grade point averages during each of the last five campaigns. The Golden Knights have produced the nation's best Division II team GPA in 1998 (3.8), 1999 (3.74), 2010 (3.64) and 2015 (3.8). The program ranked second (3.60) in 2011, third (3.58) in 2012, third (3.69) in 2013, third (3.69) in 2015, fourth (3.67) in 2014, seventh (3.42) in 2009, 16th (3.35) in 2004, 16th (3.34) in 2005, 26th (3.217) in 2006, 27th (3.06) in 2000, 36th (3.10) in 2003 and 49th (3.04) in 2008.
Bobby Danielson (Erie, Pa./Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy),
Nick Samsel (Fairview, Pa./Fairview),
Garrett Sutton (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria) and
Joseph Westrick (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) earned USTFCCCA NCAA Division II all-academic individual honors.
Danielson received USTFCCCA NCAA Division II all-academic individual honors for the third consecutive year. The junior holds a 3.85 cumulative grade point average as an athletic training major. He has been named a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Scholar-Athlete and received the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award every year.
The Erie, Pa., native was among Gannon's top two runners at every race this season. Danielson led the Golden Knights at the Notre Dame National Catholic Invitational, Roberts Wesleyan Invitational and PSAC Championships. His best performance was a third-place overall finish at the Gannon/Mercyhurst Invitational.
Samsel secured all-academic honors for the first time with a 3.63 cumulative GPA as a supply chain management and entrepreneurship major. Similar to Danielson, the junior has been named a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and received the NCAA Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award every year. He finished among Gannon's top four runners during the last five events, including the PSAC Championships and NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional. Samsel's top finish was seventh overall at the Gannon/Mercyhurst Invitational.
Sutton took home his first all-academic award with a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average as a biomedical engineering major. A PSAC Scholar-Athlete last season, the sophomore placed among Gannon's top four during five of six events. He completed a season-best sixth-place overall finish at the Gannon/Mercyhurst Invitational.
Westrick completes Gannon's trio of first-time all-academic honorees. The freshman also owns a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA as an undecided science major. He burst onto the collegiate scene with a fifth-place overall finish at the Fredonia State Invitational during his Gannon debut, being quicker than all Golden Knights in the process. Westrick later finished runner-up at the Gannon/Mercyhurst Invitational. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native was among Gannon's top two runners during every event. He was the first Golden Knight to cross the finish line at the Fredonia State Invitational, Gannon/Mercyhurst Invitational and NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional.
The USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team in Division II consisted of 269 male student-athletes from 118 different institutions. To qualify, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or greater through the most recent semester and placed in the top 50 percent at the most recent NCAA National Championships or in the top 30 percent at the NCAA Regional Championships.
Twenty student-athletes reported 4.0 cumulative GPAs.
