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Vallez, SMU men, women earn academic honors

John
Vallez
All-Academic
WINONA, Minn. —  Saint Mary's University's John Vallez (Eagan, Minn.) capped off a stellar freshman cross country season by clocking an eight-kilometer time of 26:41 to place 32nd at the NCAA Central Regional Championships — and earning SMU's first All-Region honor since Mark Bolster placed 27th in 1999.

Monday afternoon, Vallez was once again honored — this time for his effort in the classroom, as the Cardinal was among the 108 NCAA Division III student-athletes named to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III All-Academic Team.

With Vallez in the lead, the SMU men were honored as one of the 83 Division III schools to earn all-academic team honors, compiling a 3.143GPA.

The SMU women also earned all-academic team honors, posting a 3.497 GPA to join 111 other Division III institutions to earn the post-season award.

To be honored as an all-academic cross country team, Division III schools needed a cumulative team GPA of at least 3.1, while a runner must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher to earn Division III All-Academic individual honors.