BEAUMONT, Texas - The Southland Conference unveiled their all-academic honorees for the 2022 cross country season and Lamar University had five members selected to the team. Earning first team honors were Yasmin Austridge, Nia Clatworthy, Eli Peveto, and George Wheeler while Conor Smith was picked as a second team member. LU's five recipients were the most among all SLC schools on the list.

Austridge maintained a perfect 4.00 GPA as a major in business administration. This past season saw her as LU's top runner on the women's side as well as earning two SLC women's athlete of the week honors. She finished first in two meets, which included setting a new PR in the 3k McNeese Opener in under 10 minutes (09:59.5). Austridge also earned a fourth-place finish at the Southland Conference in just 21 minutes flat, which not only set a new PR in the 6k, but also earned her all-conference first team honors. She would finish her season competing in the NCAA DI South Central Region Cross Country Championships placing 29th.

Clatworthy achieved a 3.90 GPA while majoring in nutrition. Clatworthy finished inside the top 10 in three meets this season. She set three PRs in the 3k McNeese Opener (10:26.8), 5k North Alabama Showcase (18:17.5), and the SLC Championship (21:23.0), which got her 10th place and a spot on the second team all-conference. Clatworthy would go on to race in the South Central Regional meet and finished 50th.

Recording a perfect 4.00 GPA as a computer science major, Peveto set new PRs in both the 6k (18:05.3) McNeese Opener where he finished fourth and in the 10k South Central Regional meet (31:37.4) where he took 27th place. By finishing in sixth place in the SLC Championship with a time of 24:11.0, he earned second team all-conference honors.

Smith was also a perfect 4.00 GPA student majoring in chemistry. He set three new PRs this past season in the 6k Season Opener (18:56.4), the 8k SLC Championship (24:42.0), and the 10k South Central Regional meet (32:42.1).

Wheeler earned a 3.12 GPA while majoring in environmental studies. Throughout the season, Wheeler has been the top men's runner for the Cardinals earning four top 10 finishes including first place at the McNeese Opener, which also set a new PR in the 6k meet (17:43.7). Wheeler took second place in the SLC Championship meet (23:44.0) that got him first team all-conference honors. Then, he added an eighth place finish in the South Central Regional meet, which qualified him for the NCAA DI XC Championships. Though he crossed the line in 149th place, he did set a new 10k PR with a time of 30:36.4.

To be considered for all-academic honors, an athlete must hold a minimum 3.00 cumulative grade point average in the semester prior to the championship, completed one full academic year at the institution prior to this past season, and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competitions during this past season. This honor is voted upon by a head coach, sports information director, and an academic/compliance staff member from each school. In addition, student-athletes of the year are voted upon by an award committee, which includes one administrator from each member school. Voting for one's own athletes were not allowed.

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

Men's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year: Griffin Neal, UIW


Men's Cross Country All-Academic First Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
Griffin Neal *2	UIW	So.	Wimberley, Texas	3.59	Business Administration
Dennis Kipngeno *2	A&M-Corpus Christi	Sr.	Nakuru, Kenya	3.27	Nursing
George Wheeler *	Lamar	Gr.	Milton Keynes, England	3.12	Environmental Studies
Jaden Forester 2	New Orleans	So.	La Mesa, Calif.	4.00	Computer Science
Eli Peveto	Lamar	Jr.	Orange, Texas	4.00	Computer Science

 
Men's Cross Country All-Academic Second Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
Alexandre Fetizon	UIW	So.	Ambonnay, France	4.00	Engineering (Mechanical)
Conor Smith	Lamar	So.	Birmingham, England	4.00	Chemistry
Cade Litolff 2	New Orleans	Jr.	Metairie, La.	4.00	Chemistry
Randy Canady	Nicholls	R-Jr.	Groesbeck, Texas	3.129	Interdisciplinary Studies
Tanner Townsend	A&M-Commerce	Sr.	Royse City, Texas	4.00	Kinesiology & Sport Studies

 

Women's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year: Jessica Rabius, HCU


Women's Cross Country All-Academic First Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
Jessica Rabius 2	HCU	Sr.	East Bernard, Texas	4.00	Masters in Business Administration
Yasmine Austridge *	Lamar	Sr.	London, England	4.00	Business Administration
Faith Bett *	A&M-Corpus Christi	Gr.	Eldoret, Kenya	3.80	Nursing
Alexandra Weir	New Orleans	Jr.	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	3.63	Sociology
Nia Clatworthy	Lamar	So.	Porthcawl, Wales	3.90	Nutrition

 
 
Women's Cross Country All-Academic Second Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown	GPA	Major
Sharon Kiprop	A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	Iten, Kenya	3.43	Nursing
Elsa Rijpstra 2	Nicholls	Sr.	Oentsjerk, The Netherlands	4.00	Health Science Pre-Athletic Training
Pamela Kosgei	McNeese	R-Sr.	Eldoret, Kenya	3.39	General Studies and Behavioral Science
Andrea Acuna	UIW	So.	Ft. Worth, Texas	3.32	Psychology
Sorcha Moloney	McNeese	R-Jr.	Abbeyleix, Ireland	3.74	General Studies and Natural Science

* Automatic selection; 2022 First Team All-Conference