August 9, 2010 | Division of Athletics

Women’s Track and Field, Cross Country Teams Earn All-Academic Honor

The UConn teams received the honor after earning a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

The UConn Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Teams. Photo provided by the Division of Athletics
The UConn Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Teams. Photo provided by the Division of Athletics

The UConn women’s track and field and cross country teams have been selected by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as a Division I All-Academic Team for the 2009-10 season. UConn was one of 151 programs to receive the honor, after earning a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

In addition, senior Phylicia George and freshman Emma Crowcroft were two of 557 female student-athletes selected as All-Academic Honorees for the women, along with seniors Michael Rutt and Sean Smith of the men’s track and field team, among 357 male student-athletes who received the honor.

Phylicia George.
Phylicia George.

George broke the UConn 100-meter record at the Big East Championship earlier this year, with a third place finish in the preliminaries, crossing the line at 13.39 seconds. Her second-place performance in the ECAC Championship also helped the Huskies capture their third-straight title, and she was part of the 4×100 meter relay team that won the ECAC Championship and advanced all the way to the NCAA Championship in Eugene, where they finished with a 15th-place showing and a time of 44.89 seconds. George was also named the 2010 Big East Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award Winner for track and field.

Emma Crowcroft.
Emma Crowcroft.

Crowcroft finished her freshman season placing 16th in the javelin at the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore. Her toss of 46.49 meters (152′ 6″) was the top throw by a freshman. Crowcroft helped the Huskies to the ECAC Championship, claiming the title in the javelin with a toss of 46.98 meters (154′ 2″). She was selected to the Big East All-Academic Team this past season.

Mike Rutt.
Mike Rutt.

Rutt, an exercise science major, capped off his 2010 season with a 13th-place finish in the 800-meter run (1:48.27) at the USA Track and Field Championships, after finishing in second place at the Big East Championship with a time of 1:50.07 and 13th at the NCAA Championship (1:47.56). Rutt was also part of the school record-setting 4×800 meter relay team, which posted a time of 7:18.58 at the Penn Relays earlier in the season, breaking an 11 year-old record set in 1999.

Smith, an accounting major, was named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team, after earning his first College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honor earlier this summer. During his senior campaign, Smith won the Big East title in the decathlon, finishing with a career best 7,370 points and a 21st-place national ranking. He also advanced to the NCAA Championship for the first time, where he finished in 19th place with 7,061 points.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track & Field Team, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either the NCAA Division I Indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard or participated in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships in his or her respective event.