NEW ORLEANS – Four Gonzaga men's runners were named All-Academic individuals, and the Zag women's and men's track and field teams received academic team recognition from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Thursday.
 
Alex Heffelfinger, Scott Kopczynski, Brandon Pollard and Mason Villarma earned USTFCCCA All-Academic status. Heffelfinger, an English major, boasts a 3.69 GPA. He placed 47^th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, after running a personal record qualifying time of 8:56.97 at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival.
 
Kopczynski has a 3.80 GPA as a Computer Science major. He placed 44^th in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA West Prelims. Kopczynski entered 43rd with a seed time of 3:46.01. The junior ran the fifth-fastest time in Gonzaga history at the Portland Twilight. Pollard was seeded 27^th in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:44.63. The senior qualified with that time at the Portland Twilight on May 12. The Kinesiology & Physical Education major has a 3.42 GPA, and placed 46^th at the NCAA West Preliminary. Mason Villarma (3.86; Accounting & Business Admin, Finance) placed 18^th at the West Preliminary Round. He ran his qualifying time of 3:45.91, which is fourth in program history, at the Oregon Twilight on May 4.
 
To qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have met at least one of the following athletic standards: For the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org. For the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).
 
Forty men's programs earned All-Academic Team honors. The GU men ranked eighth among Div. I men's programs with a 3.44 team GPA, tied with Stanford for the best GPA on the west coast. On the women's side, 220 Div. I teams earned the honor. The Bulldogs' 3.48 GPA ranked 53^rd.
 
The highest cumulative GPA of any women's team belonged to the University of San Francisco for the third consecutive year. The Dons maintained a 3.76 GPA under head coach Helen Lehman-Winters.
 
When it comes to men's teams, the Eastern Michigan held down the top spot with a cumulative GPA of 3.54. Lipscomb and Marist wasn't too far behind at 3.53.
 
As far as the Scholar Teams of the Year are concerned, the Florida men and the Georgia women took honors for the indoor season, while the Georgia men and USC women were the outdoor recipients after standing out in the classroom and in competition.
 
In order to be in contention for Scholar Team of the Year, a program must finish highly at the respective national championship meet and have at least a 3.00 cumulative team GPA.