Thursday, June 01, 2006

MACON, Ga. -- Academic honors abound for four Atlantic Sun women's cross country teams. Belmont, Jacksonville, Gardner-Webb and Campbell each made the list among the Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Association's (WICCCA) All Academic Teams.

Belmont posted a 3.641 GPA and has been named to the list since 1999. The Bruins' success in the classroom and on the course has translated to four consecutive A-Sun Championships from 2001 to 2004. Despite a second place finish in 2005, Belmont finished 15th at the NCAA South Regional.

Jacksonville was not far behind, with a collective 3.502 GPA. The Dolphins make the list for the first time along with Gardner-Webb who posted a 3.233 average. The Dolphins had a solid 2005 season. Sophomore Fallon Heffernan was the Dolphins top finisher in every meet and finished ninth at the A-Sun Championship to earn all-conference honors. She also placed 39th in the NCAA South Regional and the team finished 19th.

Campbell was the fourth A-Sun team, totaling a 3.215 GPA. The Camels finished third at the 2005 A-Sun Championship, helped by Alicia Valtin. Valtin was a three-time athlete of the week selection during the season and was named Runner of the Year after running a record-setting 16.56 in the championship meet. The time broke course and meet records. She is the first runner in A-Sun history to run under 17:00 minutes.