2019 USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams (Men | Women)
2019 USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals (Men | Women)

NEW ORLEANS -- Academy of Art University men's and women's cross country made it four consecutive years earning All-Academic Team honors as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Additionally, runners Rabah Houali, Hudson Lockette, and Natalia Novak were each named USTFCCCA All-Academic Individuals.

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 grade 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 a 3.19 GPA, finished third at the PacWest Championship, and made their sixth consecutive appearance at NCAA Regionals where they finished 10th overall. This year, the squad included Houali, Lockette, Markus Anderson Deakin, Joshua Browne, Charlie Messai, Abdelouakil Mustapha, and James Young.

Placing among the top three at the PacWest Championship for the third time in the last four years, the women's team went on to contest NCAA Regionals for the fourth consecutive year all while delivering a 3.10 GPA. This year, the squad who headed to the NCAA postseason included Novak, Jasmine Becker, Latavia Hawkins, Hasna Kaarour, Audrey Rosencrans, and Alyssa Winter.

In his final season with Academy of Art cross country, Houali delivered some of the best performances of his career in 2019. He compiled a 3.56 GPA in Communications & Media Technologies while helping the team with a PacWest Runner of the Week honor early on thanks to his 8k personal record at the Kim Duyst Invitational then his fastest 10k time with a 41st-place result at NCAA Regionals.

Running for the Urban Knights in his second season, Lockette completed the fall with a 3.31 cumulative GPA in Illustration. He posted his top 8k time at the Capital Cross Challenge then walked away with All-PacWest Second Team honors and nearly a two-minute improvement in his 10k time at NCAA Regionals thereafter.

The newest addition to the ART U women's cross country team this season, Novak made an immediate impact in her five races this past fall. While working toward a 3.75 cumulative GPA in Communications & Media Technologies, she earned All-PacWest First Team by finishing fifth at the PacWest Championships then saved her fastest 6k time for NCAA Regionals where she made the top 40 out of 186.

Houali and Lockette were two of 263 men representing 107 institutions while Novak was among 402 women from 132 institutions who earned this distinguished USTFCCCA All-Academic honor for their combined academic and athletic accomplishments. A total of 120 men's teams and 150 women's teams were honored for the team awards.

These are the first USTFCCCA All-Academic awards in the Academy of Art careers of Houali, Lockette, and Novak.