SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference has announced its Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Team for the 2019 season, encompassing WCC student-athletes who excelled this year both on the course and in the classroom.
Eight WCC institutions were represented across the board on the All-Academic First Team, showcased by a pair of student-athletes from 2019 NCAA National Runner-Up BYU and Pepperdine.
This year’s squad features three repeat appearances led by Pepperdine senior Tatum Rask, making her third and final appearance for the Waves. BYU’s Erika Birk-Jarvis and Olivia Hoj claim spots on the first team for the second straight season.
No fewer than 68 student-athletes qualified for academic honors – with 14 nominees from Portland and 10 from Santa Clara. A conference record 59 posted a GPA of at least 3.50, while a WCC-record 34 posted marks of 3.75 or better.
Six student-athlete compiled 4.0 GPAs: McKenna Lee, BYU; Ellee Becker, Portland; Sofia Castiglioni, Portland; Abigayle Mitchell, Saint Mary’s, Jessica Ong, San Diego and Josienne Scheepens, San Francisco.
At the conclusion of each athletic season, the WCC selects an all-academic squad for each WCC-sponsored sport. To be considered, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, while also being a significant contributor to her team.
2019 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
| Name |
School |
Class |
GPA |
Major |
| *Erica Birk-Jarvis |
BYU |
Sr. |
3.62 |
Family Life |
| Kendall Bietsch |
Pacific |
Sr. |
3.96 |
Health & Exercise Science |
| Sofia Castiglioni |
Portland |
So. |
4.00 |
Biology |
| *Olivia Hoj |
BYU |
Sr. |
3.94 |
Public Health |
| Emma McCurry |
Santa Clara |
Jr. |
3.93 |
Bioengineering |
| Claire Manley |
Gonzaga |
Jr. |
3.66 |
Business Administration |
| Abigayle Mitchell |
Saint Mary’s |
Jr. |
3.93 |
Global Studies |
| Cori Persinger |
Pepperdine |
Sr. |
3.93 |
Hispanic Studies |
| ***Tatum Rask |
Pepperdine |
Sr. |
3.88 |
Mathematics |
| Hannah Rasmussen |
San Diego |
Jr. |
3.95 |
Physics |
2019 WCC WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ALL-ACADEMIC HONORABLE MENTIONS
BYU: Amanda Erickson, Alissa Fielding, Aubrey Frentheway, Kate Hunter, McKenna Lee, Rachel Morrin
GONZAGA: Ariel Evans, Claire Gillett, Ally Legard
LMU: Rosie Cruz, Kyla Danforth, Raina Hines, Ann Kelly, Hannah Wohlenberg
PACIFIC: Jasmine Gonzalez, Anna Martinez, Saira Purhar
PEPPERDINE: Izabela Garcia-Arce, Annelies Ondersma, Key Pearson, Riley Wright
PORTLAND: Emily Bechen, Ellee Becker, Lacey Conner, Ellie Erikson, Jasmine Fehr, Madeleine Lyons, Ellie Misuraca, Alexandra Newsom, Grace Oswin, Grace Perkins, Grace Ritchie, Natalie Smith, Allegra VanderWilde
SAINT MARY’S: Ellen Burbank, Kaela Dishion, Emma McCarthy, Kathryn Watson
SAN DIEGO: Molly Klein, Kate Kohler, Madison Lambros, Cammy Manes, Jessica Ong, Ally Roessling, Maggie Scholle, Beth Wade
SAN FRANCISCO: Aoibhe Richardson, Josien Scheepens
SANTA CLARA: Kalen Abe, Claire Cocales, Hannah Covington, Sarah King, Ellie Kopf, Janie Nabholz, Kayla Neumann, Noelani Obermeyer, Hope Olbricht