USTFCCCA All-Academic selections
USTFCCCA Team Academic Awards 

RINDGE, N.H. (February 15, 2017) – Junior Martin Gradijan (Lebanon, N.H.), senior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) and senior B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.) of the Franklin Pierce University men's cross country team, as well as freshmen Julia Cormier (Northwood, N.H.) and Rebecca Zylak (Goffstown, N.H.) of the women's team, have all earned United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic honors, as announced late last week by the USTFCCCA. In addition, both the men's and women's cross country programs have been honored at the team level by the USTFCCCA All-Academic program.

Per the USTFCCCA: "The individual All-Academic honor was awarded to those athletes who have compiled a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 and finished among the top 30 percent of eligible runners at his or her regional championships and/or the top half of the field at the NCAA Championships." In total, the USTFCCCA honored 404 women and 269 men for their work in the classroom and on the course this fall.

At the team level, the USTFCCCA honored all programs which scored at their respective NCAA regional meet and tallied a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher in the fall semester. For Franklin Pierce, the women turned in a 3.13 GPA, while the men contributed a 3.08.

Smith earned USTFCCCA All-Academic accolades in cross country for the third time in his career, Minors did so for the second time, and the others were all first-time honorees.

Gradijan ran a 10k time of 33:39.0 this fall to finish 54th at the NCAA Championship East Regional. Earlier in the season, he placed 72nd at the Northeast-10 Championship and 202nd at the NEICAAA Championships.

Minors, a sports & recreation management major, placed fourth at the East Regional, with a time of 31:47.5. The finish earned him a trip to the national championship race, where he came in 195th, with a 10k time of 33:56.9. Minors was sixth at the Northeast-10 Championship and 137th at the NEICAAA Championships.

A health sciences major, Smith was 27th at the East Regional, as he turned in a time of 32:34.6. He also placed 15th at the Northeast-10 Championship and 53rd at the New England Championships.

Cormier, an elementary education major, ran a 6k time of 23:42.4 to finish 59th at the East Regional. Earlier in the season, she placed 34th at the Northeast-10 Championship and 174nd at the NEICAAA Championships.

Also a health sciences major, Zylak was 72nd at the East Regional, as she stopped the clock at 24:06.5. She also placed 41st at the Northeast-10 Championship and 193rd at the New England Championships.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce cross country apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).