Thanks to their top 30 performances at the NCAA Cross Country Division II West Regional, along with their continued excellence in the classroom, junior Katie Hansen (, ) and sophomore Rachel Yorkston () have been named to the Division II USTFCCCA Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Team, announced Monday by the coaches association.
Coming back from an injury that cut short her 2006 season, Hansen led with a 23rd place finish on Nov. 3 in , with a time of 21:42, a personal best. She was the team’s top runner all season long, finishing fourth at the Emerald City Open and the Western Washington Invitational along with a fifth place finish at the GNAC Championships. Academically, Hansen is majoring in biology with a 3.883 grade point average and is a two-time Academic All-GNAC honoree.
Also returning after a season-ending injury the previous year, Yorkston crossed the finish line in 29th place at the regional meet with a time of 21:52, also a personal best. Yorkston finished in 11th place at the Emerald City Open, 15th in her hometown during the Western Washington Invitational, and 18th at the GNAC Championships. Yorkston has a 3.575 grade point average and is majoring in nursing.
Of the 202 female student-athletes named to the All-Academic Team, 13 of them come from GNAC schools. and Seattle Pacific are the only GNAC schools to have multiple representatives to the team, with the Falcons placing six runners on the team, including Jessica Pixler, the 2007 Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Athlete of the Year. Alaska Fairbanks, , Northwest Nazarene, Western Oregon, and Western Washington each placed one runner on the team.
To qualify for the All-Academic team, student-athletes must have completed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale. The student-athletes must also finish in the top 30 percent of individual participants at their respective regional cross country championships.
Hansen and Yorkston have both qualified for the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, to take place next Monday, Feb. 18, in .