FRISCO, Texas - Lamar University had five members of its cross country team named to the Southland Conference All-Academic teams, as announced by the league office on Thursday. Jordan Rowe was named SLC Men's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year, and he was joined on the Men's First Team by Matthew Arnold and Jack Gooch. Julie Emmerson was All-Academic First Team on the women's side, and Katy Whiteoak took home Second Team honors.

Rowe earned the Student-Athlete of the Year honors after an extremely successful season. The senior from Frinton-on-Sea, England, led his team in all six races this year, earning Top 10 finishes in each race except the NCAA National Championship. He was the SLC Men's Athlete of the Year, spearheading LU's record-breaking Southland Conference victory in Conway, Ark., with a first place finish. Rowe showed glimmers of what to expect for the season when he opened the year with a dominant victory at the Rice Invitational, finishing 14 seconds ahead of second place. Rowe went on to secure a ninth-place finish at the Chile Pepper Festival with a personal best time of 24:01 over the 8,000-meter course and two weeks later secured a fourth place finish at the Bronco Invitational. Rowe's impressive performances has seen him be recognized by the Southland Conference, earning the SLC Athlete of the week honors two times this season. In the NCAA South Central Regional he ran a 30:25 on the 10,000-meter course, finishing eighth and qualifying for Nationals for the second consecutive season and earning All-South Central Regional honors. He came in 86th out of 253 runners at the National Championship. Rowe is enrolled in graduate school currently and has a 3.83 GPA while majoring in Kinesiology.

Arnold was a Third Team All-SLC member after finishing 15th at the SLC Championships, just his second race of the year. He took 37th in the NCAA South Central Regional with a time of 31:24. Arnold has already completed one Masters Degree at Lamar, a Kinesiology degree that he earned with a 3.66 GPA. He's currently enrolled in another Masters program at Lamar, majoring in English.

Gooch was a First Team All-SLC member after finishing third at the SLC Championships with a time of 24:09.6, a new personal best. In the NCAA South Central Regional Gooch ran a 30:53 to finish 18th, and was named to the All-South Central Regional team. He is pursuing an MBA at Lamar and has a 3.90 cumulative GPA.

Emmerson repped Lamar well in every race this year, including the SLC Championships and the NCAA South Central Regional. She set a PR at the SLC meet with a time of 21:35.3, almost a full minute faster than her previous best time. Emmerson took fifth in that race and earned First Team All-SLC honors. In the regional race Emmerson ran a 37th place race with a time of 22:15. She's studying Kinesiology in grad school at Lamar with a perfect 4.00 GPA.

Whiteoak earned Second Team All-Academic honors after finishing ninth at the SLC meet for a time of 21:46.3 and being named Second Team All-SLC. She ran a 22:25 at the NCAA South Central Regional to finish 45th. Whiteoak is a junior and majoring in history at Lamar. She holds a 3.95 GPA.

Southland Conference All-Academic Teams are voted upon by a head coach, sports information director and academic/compliance staff member from each school. Student-Athletes of the Year are voted upon by an awards committee which consists of one administrator from each member school. Voting for one's own athletes is not permitted.

To be eligible for all-academic distinction, an athlete must hold a minimum 3.00 cumulative grade point average through the semester prior to the sport's championship, completed at least one full academic year at the nominating school prior to the current season, and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competitions during the most recently completed season.

Student-Athlete of the Year nominees must hold at least a 3.20 GPA and have completed at least two years of athletic competition at the nominating institution.

First Team All-Conference athletes (top five finishers at the Southland Cross Country Championships) who meet all-academic nomination criteria are automatically named First Team All-Academic.

Men's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year: Jordan Rowe, Lamar
Men's Cross Country All-Academic First Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
Kevin Kipkosgei*	Abilene Christian	So.	Eldoret, Kenya	4.00	Nursing
Matt Arnold	Lamar	Gr.	Surrey, England	3.66	Kinesiology
Jack Gooch*	Lamar	Gr.	Cardiff, Wales	3.90	Business Administration
Jordan Rowe*	Lamar	Gr.	Frinton-On-Sea, Essex, England	3.83	Kinesiology
Isaac Vargas	A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	Levelland, Texas	3.80	Electrical Engineering

 
Men's Cross Country All-Academic Second Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
Colton Gates	Abilene Christian	So.	Aurora, Colo.	4.00	Engineering
Conner Miller	Abilene Christian	Jr.	Carrollton, Texas	3.15	Financial Management
Jaron Hamilton	Central Arkansas	Sr.	Grand Prairie, Texas	3.82	Exercise Science
Austin Zirkel	Sam Houston State	So.	Medina, Texas	3.88	Criminal Justice
Marek Spriestersbach	A&M-Corpus Christi	Sr.	Oberneisen, Germany	3.94	Mechanical Engineering

 
Women's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year: Kelsey Ramirez, Stephen F. Austin
Women's Cross Country All-Academic First Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
Briahna Gerlach*	Abilene Christian	Jr.	Gakona, Ala.	3.55	Social Work
Carnley Graham	Abilene Christian	Sr.	Prosper, Texas	3.90	Nursing
Julie Emmerson*	Lamar	Gr.	Kenilworth, Warwichshire, England	4.00	Kinesiology
Arina Kleshchukova*	New Orleans	Jr.	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan	3.67	Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Administration
Kelsey Ramirez*	Stephen F. Austin	Sr.	LaPorte, Texas	4.00	Kinesiology

 
Women's Cross Country All-Academic Second Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
Gracie Hyde	Central Arkansas	So.	Benton, Ark.	4.00	Exercise Science
Erin Woodward	Central Arkansas	Sr.	Little Rock, Ark.	4.00	Health Sciences – Physical Therapy
Alia Henderson	UIW	So.	Bandera, Texas	4.00	Government
Katy Whiteoak	Lamar	Jr.	Manchester, England	3.95	History
Meredith Clayton	Stephen F. Austin	So.	Brenham, Texas	4.00	Mathematics

* Automatic selection; 2019 First Team All-Conference


The 2020 indoor track & field season starts on December 7 at the FasTrack Opener.