NEW ORLEANS, La. --- Four members of the Tusculum University men's and women's cross country teams have been named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team for the 2019 cross country season.
Graduate student Nicole McMillen and senior Alissa Furches were among 403 student-athletes named to the Women's All-Academic team, and senior Taylor Tupps and sophomore Alex Perez were part of the 263-member Men's All-Academic Team. Both McMillen and Furches were named to the Cross Country All-Academic Team last year, with McMillen also earning the honors for track & field in the spring.
The Pioneers also received USTFCCCA All-Academic Team status for both the men's and women's programs. To be eligible, teams must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and scored at an NCAA Division II regional meet during the season. The Tusculum women had a cumulative grade-point average of 3.18 to be one of 148 teams honored in Division II, while the men had an identical 3.18 GPA and were among 120 Division II men's teams recognized by the USTFCCCA.
McMillen, a graduate student from Pickering, Ontario, graduated from Tusculum last spring with a 3.92 cumulative grade-point average and has a 3.85 GPA as a graduate student in business management. She is a member of the President's List, Dean's List, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List, SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll. McMillen won four races during the fall, including the SAC Championship by 25 seconds with a time of 21:37.4, and was second at the Southeast Region meet in 21:02.1 to qualify for nationals for the second straight year, where she finished in 92nd place out of 260 runners.
Furches, a senior from Greeneville, Tennessee, has a 3.58 GPA while majoring in elementary education. She is a member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll, Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. Furches finished 24th at the South Atlantic Conference Championship with a time of 23:46.3, and placed 38th at the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship with a time of 23:29.7.
Tupps, a senior from Greeneville, Tennessee, has a 3.63 GPA as a mathematics major. He is a member of the SAC Commissioners Honor Roll, the Athletic Director's Honor Roll and the Division II Athletic Directors Association Honor Roll. Tupps finished 36th at the SAC Championship with a time of 27:39.9 and placed 53rd at the Southeast Region meet with a time of 33:54.3.
Perez, a sophomore from Aviles, Spain, has a 3.44 GPA and is majoring in business administration. He is a member of the SAC Commissioners Honor Roll and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll. Perez was 33rd overall and third among Tusculum runners at the SAC Championship with a time of 27:28.9, and finished 61st at the Southeast Regional with a time of 34:15.2.
In order to qualify USTFCCCA individual honors, student-athletes must have compiled a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and finished among the top-30 percent of eligible runners at his or her regional championships.
