Aug. 5, 2010

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Both the Mizzou men's and women's track and field programs have been honored as All-Academic Programs by the US Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association as announced on Wednesday (August 4). To qualify for the award, the team's cumulative grade point average (GPA) must be higher than 3.00. The men's team was one of 73 to earn the award nationally and one of six teams in the Big 12. The women's team was one of 151 squads nationally and eight in the Big 12.

More importantly for the Tiger women, this is the 46th straight All-Academic honor for the program, combining indoor, outdoor and cross country as the program has earned this honor in all three seasons every year since the inception of the award. Mizzou is the only school in the country that has accomplished that feat.

The men's team finished the season with a cumulative GPA of 3.03 while the women finished with a 3.36. Yale led all men's teams with a 3.42 GPA while Oklahoma led the women's teams with a 3.62 clip.

This news comes on the heels of the news announced last week that 11 members of the track and field program received All-Academic honors. Also, Shannon Leinert (Eureka, Mo.) and Leslie Farmer (Jefferson City, Mo.) were honored as CoSIDA Academic All-District selections while Leinert earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team.

The academic success in 2010 just continues the long line of success in the classroom that Mizzou has seen under the direction of head coach Rick McGuire, a fitting close for his final year as the head coach of the program.

For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.

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