USTFCCCA Cross Country All-America Honors Awarded in Division I

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Monday the 80 student-athletes that received All-America honors for the 2012 NCAA Division I Cross Country season. Overall finish at the NCAA Championships is the determining factor as the top 40 individuals from both men’s and women’s races earn All-America plaudits from the USTFCCCA.

USTFCCCA All-America Archive

The Oklahoma State Cowboys captured their third NCAA men’s cross country team title in a four-year period as Dave Smith’s squad won the day with a 63-point victory. The 72 points by OSU was the best team score to win the national title since Wisconsin in 2005 (37). Led by senior Girma Mecheso who finished fifth overall, the Cowboys picked up a national-high four All-America honors. Junior Tom Farrell (ninth), junior Shadrack Kipchirchir (18th), and junior Joseph Manilafasha (24th) also captured honors from the USTFCCCA.

Wisconsin and Colorado each placed three runners in the top 40 to follow Oklahoma State in the All-America tally.

In the conference race, the Pac-12 and Big 12 each had six male honorees, followed by the ACC (5) and Big Ten (4). If the NCAA Championships were scored by conference, the Big 12 would score 47 points as the top league – Texas Tech’s Kennedy Kithuka was the individual national champion and were followed by the Oklahoma State trio of All-Americans, and Texas’ Ryan Dohner placed 19th. The Big Ten would follow as the conference runner-up with 74 points. The Pac-12 would be third (85), the ACC fourth (102), SEC fifth (129), West Coast Conference sixth (171), Conference USA seventh (183), Big Sky eighth (190), Big East ninth (240), Ivy League tenth (242), and the Ohio Valley Conference 11th (284).

In the women’s championship, Oregon came away with their third overall cross country crown and their first since 1987. Senior Jordan Hasay was the top Duck with a third-place individual finish. She was joined in gaining All-America honors by senior Alexi Pappas (eighth) and senior transfer Katie Conlon (39th).

Stanford, Providence, and Florida State also claimed three women’s All-America honors.

The Pac-12 had 11 women gain All-America status – the most among the nation’s conferences. The ACC fell next with seven, followed by the Big East (4). Scoring the NCAA meet by conference, the Pac-12 would have the edge in scoring 51 points with Oregon’s Hasay and Pappas leading the way. Utah’s Amanda Mergaert placed 14th as the league’s third, Colorado’s Shalaya Kipp was 18th, and Arizona’s Elvin Kibet was 19th. The ACC would finish second in the fantasized meet with 72, and the Big 12 would be third (104), Big East fourth (105), SEC and Big Ten would tie for fifth (174), the Ivy League seventh (177), Big Sky eighth (243), CAA ninth (250), Mountain West tenth (251), Mid-American Conference 11th (271), and the Atlantic 10 12th (295).

The USTFCCCA will announce Division I National Athletes and Coaches of the Year on Tuesday.

2012 USTFCCCA DIVISION I CROSS COUNTRY ALL-AMERICANS

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