2012 USTFCCCA NCAA Division II All-Academic Cross Country Team

New Orleans, LA -- After a successful fall season both running cross country and in the classroom, senior Jenny Bergren and freshman Arianna Michaels were both named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Cross Country Team in an announcement Monday. Each in their respective first year at Academy of Art University, Bergren and Michaels excelled in the School of Interior Architecture & Design while capturing a series of individual cross country titles highlighted by Bergren's NCAA All-American status and Michaels' PacWest Freshman of the Year honor.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team in Division II, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or greater through the most-recent semester, completed at least 12 credit hours in the semester of cross country competition, 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. A total of 345 student-athletes representing 126 institutions met these requirements.

Bergren, whose senior season crescendoed with her taking 15th overall at the NCAA National Championships and becoming ART U's first All-American, posted a sparkling 3.6 GPA through the fall. She posted two 1st place finishes in five regular season meets for the Urban Knights including the top result at the Pacific West Conference Championships by a significant margin. Bergren was named PacWest Runner of the Year and All-PacWest First Team then went on to earn USTFCCCA All-West Region and the title of All-American in November.

Michaels, who sported a 3.3 GPA during the fall, delivered a freshman campaign reflecting her determination to be the best. After the season-opening USF Invitational 5k race, Michaels would take approximately 30 seconds off her time when the Bronco Open came around on Oct. 13. At PacWest, Michaels was the highest finishing freshman from any of the 13 teams competing on the women's side. The Valencia, CA native then produced a 46th place result in her NCAA Regionals debut and was the 11th freshman overall.

"I am very happy to have two of our artist-athletes receive All-Academic awards," associate head coach Torrey Olson said. "With how challenging the academics are here, it really means something to me to have athletes meeting both the academic and athletic standards for this award. Jenny and Arianna exemplify the hard work and organization necessary to do it. When I asked Arianna how her classes were recently, she said she was working so hard, but that her classes are a reminder of why she came here to study interior design in the first place. To me, that investment in working hard at something they care about is one of the things that makes this environment so special."