CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.  --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's cross country team posted the No. 2 GPA in the nation and was named a United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team for the 2017 season.
 
The Mocs posted a team grade point average of 3.64, behind UC Davis. This is the third time in six years the Mocs have boasted the second best GPA in the country. They have been first three times in the same span.
 
"We are very pleased and proud of the kids' academic achievements," Chattanooga head coach Andy Meyer said. "We impress upon the kids as soon as we start recruiting them and then as soon as they arrive on campus, the importance of academic performance.
 
"Amanda [Cotter, assistant coach] and I believe that the same characteristics essential to be a successful runner, are essential and directly related to classroom success."
 
Sophomores Jacob Etheridge and Ryan Gebelein each have an overall GPA of 4.0. The pair, along with juniors Mark Britt and Richard Guiry all posted 4.0 GPAs in the fall. Seven members of the men's team were named to the Dean's List and eight earned a spot on the UTC Athletics Director's Honor Roll.
 
The Chattanooga women posted an impressive 3.52 team GPA and were ranked 90^th out of 230 teams with a combined grade point average 3.0 or better. Freshman Sophia Neglia and sophomore Abby Bateman each carry an overall 4.0 GPA and eight members of the women's team had a perfect mark in the fall. Twelve earned a spot on the Dean's List and 15 were named to the Athletics Director's Honor Roll.
 
"These kids are competitive, motivated, dedicated and love the process of improvement," Meyer said. "They are all self-starters and demand the utmost of themselves both athletically and certainly academically. These kids realize the academic legacy here and are driven to continue it."
 
New Mexico's women and Portland's men were each named the NCAA Division I Scholar Team of the Year for the 2017 cross country season. They each earned the honor by being the top finishing team from their gender with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. The Lady Lobos captured the women's team titles while the Pilots placed runner-up to Northern Arizona who did not qualify for this award.
 
This is the second time in the past three years that New Mexico won the Women's Scholar Team of the year Award. The Lady Lobos also won in 2015 after crushing the field at the NCAAs.
 
Overall, there were 423 teams that brought home All-Academic honors. UC Davis had the top men's and women's GPA. The Aggie women led all programs with a 3.85 GPA while the men weren't too far behind with a 3.8 GPA.
 
 
FULL QUOTE FROM MEYER
"We are very pleased and proud of the kids' academic accomplishment this past fall.  We impress upon the kids as soon as we start recruiting them and then as soon as they arrive upon campus, the importance of academic performance as much as athletic performance.  Amanda and I believe that the same characteristics essential to be a successful runner, are essential and directly related to classroom success.  These kids are competitive, motivated, dedicated, and love the process of improvement.  They are self-starters and demand the utmost of themselves both athletically and certainly academically.  These kids realize the academic legacy here and are driven to continue it."
 
"What's amazing about the kids is their respective majors.  The majority of the guys and several girls are engineering majors.  We have pre-med/biology majors, nursing majors, economic and accounting majors, environmental science majors, mathematics majors etc.  These are tough classes the kids excel in.  On the team bus, as you walk down the aisle, you'll see kids studying calculus, differential equations, genetics, organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology, and physics.  The kids work very hard academically and most people don't see the hours the kids put into the books.  Our kids may spend up wards of four hours a day in practice, attend classes all day then have to go to the dorm and studying most if not all evening.  It's a grind, a very hard grind for the kids.  Our academic counselor, Lisa Tarr, does a great job of helping the kids stay focused and pointed in the proper direction."
 
"As coaches, we tell the kids that time will take and diminish the physical skills they have been blessed with.  The one thing time can't take from them is their education.  It is the most important thing they can and will leave here with.  Make the most of it and these great kids do!"