2017 USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams
2017 USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals

NEW ORLEANS -- In a Friday announcement, Academy of Art University men's and women's cross country made it two consecutive years collecting U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team honors. Additionally, runners Gatien Airiau, Victor Moreau, Marvin Thomas, Swann Phelippeau, Madeline Dignadice, and Giulia McIsaac were each named USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals.

"Success tends to come from a balanced approach across a student-athlete's life and it is no surprise to me that each year our grade point averages have risen with our athletic results," said director of track & field/cross country Torrey Olson. "I am proud of these student-athletes' work to find success with all they have on their plate."

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 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.

As a team, the ART U men's squad collectively posted its highest GPA to date (3.28) and made their fourth consecutive appearance at NCAA Regionals where they finished sixth overall. This year, the squad included Airiau, Moreau, Thomas, Brett Bermudez, Jarred Gregory-Grimes, Freddie Hessian, and Rabah Houali.

The women's team reached NCAA Regionals for the second consecutive year and also delivered its highest GPA thus far (3.10). Following up its best finish at the PacWest Conference Championship in program history, the Urban Knights once again had a historic seventh-place mark at Regionals. This year, the squad who headed to the NCAA postseason included Phelippeau, Dignadice, McIsaac, Ashley Brown, McKaela Christenson, Chandler Johnson, Beatriz Martinez Mercado, and Jamie Morris.

A repeat USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual, Airiau has offered a 3.56 GPA in Communications & Media in his stellar career thus far. His final cross country season was highlighted by becoming the third Urban Knight to earn All-American honors in the history of the men's program. He added his second straight USTFCCCA All-Region and All-PacWest First Team selections as well as his first USTFCCCA NCAA DII National Athlete of the Week honor during the season. After taking third at the PacWest Conference Championship, he would go on to finish fifth at NCAA Regionals and 22nd at Nationals.

In his first season with Academy of Art, Moreau consistently served as one of the Knights' best finishers during the season while compiling a 3.33 GPA in Communications & Media Technologies this past fall. After taking 12th at the PacWest Championship for All-PacWest Second Team, Moreau earned USTFCCCA All-West Region with his 23rd-place result at Regionals.

Thomas, the 2016 PacWest Freshman of the Year, had the highest GPA of any Urban Knight on either cross country team with a 3.71 in Game Development. He picked up his second consecutive All-PacWest Team honor, improving his 2017 mark at the PacWest Championship with an 18th-place finish this season. He then went on to take 43rd at Regionals with his best 10k time of his career.

The 2017 PacWest Newcomer of the Year, Phelippeau excelled in the School of Fashion Design, putting up a 3.66 GPA last semester. She was ART U's individual representative at NCAA Nationals (47th overall) after earning USTFCCCA All-Region for the second-highest women's finish to date at Regionals (seventh overall) and All-PacWest First Team for her third-place result at the PacWest Championship.

In her final collegiate cross country season, Dignadice posted numerous lifetime-bests while earning a 3.57 GPA in Photography. A three-time Academic All-PacWest honoree, the Santa Clarita, Calif. native had the fastest mark of her career at the PacWest Championships (28th overall) then dropped to another new career-best at Regionals where she took 70th overall.

All-PacWest Team for the second straight year, McIsaac finished the fall with a 3.29 GPA in Animation & Visual Effects. A 6k lifetime best put her ninth at the PacWest Championships and she would run strong alongside her teammates once more at Regionals, capturing 29th overall.

Airiau, Moreau, and Thomas were three of 282 men representing 119 institutions while Phelippeau, Dignadice, and McIsaac were three of 393 women from 157 institutions who earned this distinguished USTFCCCA All-Academic honor for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments.