2015 USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals
2015 USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams

NEW ORLEANS -- In a Friday announcement, Academy of Art University men's and women's cross country runners Valentin Pepiot, Pierre Fontanarosa, Kris Everett and McKaela Christenson were each awarded 2015 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic honors. And, for the first time in program history, the ART U men's team as a whole received USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.

"It is never a surprise to me when our best performing athletes are also our best performing students," said director of track & field/cross country Torrey Olson. "Pursuit of success on the course taps into a reservoir of drive that makes its way into everything these student-athletes put their minds to. These four were particularly impressive this fall."

To qualify as an USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country individual, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and and finished among the top 30 percent of total eligible runners at his or her NCAA regional championship or in the top half of the field at the NCAA Championships. Teams must have compiled a cumulative grand point average of at least 3.0 and must have scored at an NCAA Division II regional meet to qualify for All-Academic awards.

En route to his 3.75 GPA in Multimedia Communications this past fall, Pepiot became the ART U's first male cross country All-American, finishing seventh at NCAA Nationals. It was his second straight apperance at NCAA Division II's grandest stage and he reached that point while earning USTFCCCA All-West Region (fourth at Regionals), PacWest Runner of the Year, and All-PacWest First Team along the way. A two-time PacWest Runner of the Week (Sept. 15, Sept. 29), Pepiot won two events and was the top-DII finisher at the Stanford Invitational and Bronco Invitational.

In his first semester at Academy of Art, Fontanarosa delivered a 3.53 GPA in Multimedia Communications this past fall and joined Pepiot, his fellow Frenchman, as USTFCCCA All-West Region (12th at Regionals) and would make a NCAA Nationals apperance as well, finishing 71st. He claimed third at the PacWest Championship and was named both All-PacWest First Team and PacWest Newcomer of the Year.

Owner of a 3.36 GPA in Advertising this past fall, Everett was part of the ART U trio of All-PacWest First Team honorees. He finished off a season-best 8k race with a seventh-place finish in the PacWest Conference Championship and would go on to finish 61st at NCAA Regionals.

The 2014-15 PacWest Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Christenson continued to excel as an artist-athlete, offering a 3.77 GPA in Fashion Design last semester. She placed 23rd at NCAA Regionals for USTFCCCA All-West Region honors after earning All-PacWest Second Team at the PacWest Championship. Though she did not qualify for Nationals on this occasion, she still ran her best race of the season and second-lowest time of her career at 21:53.7 for Regionals. 

As a team, the ART U men's squad collectively posted a 3.27 GPA and made their second consecutive appearance at NCAA Regionals. As a team, the Urban Knights finished ninth overall at Regionals after claiming second collectively at the PacWest Championship. This year, the squad who headed to the NCAA postseason included Pepiot, Fontanarosa, Everett, Chris Costa, Austin Esposito, Jarred Gregory-Grimes, Phillip Kruse, and Jack Nevins.

Pepiot, Fontanarosa, and Everett were three of 266 men representing 115 institutions and Christenson was one of 384 women from 187 institutions who earned this distinguished USTFCCCA All-Academic honor for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments. The ART U men's team was one of 104 squads who earned the award.