Cross Country Fares Well with USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors

BOSTON, Mass. – In its first four seasons of varsity existence, the Wentworth Institute of Technology cross country has had an impressive showing, winning the last three Commonwealth Coast Conference Championships, which came on the heels of a second-place finish during the Leopards' inaugural varsity campaign. The on-the-course success is rivaled by the team's success in the classroom as the Leopards recently earned All-Academic Team honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. In addition to the team award, seniors Alex Robbins (Mansfield, Mass.) and Patrick Hopkins (Lansdale, Pa.) were both named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.

The Leopards picked up three first-place finishes this past fall, which included the program's third straight CCC title where the Black & Gold posted its best team score (37 points) at the conference championship meet in program history. Wentworth also had wins at the UNE Invitational and the Emmanuel Saints Invitational. At the NCAA Division III Regionals, the Leopards had their second-lowest score (463) in program history and had a runner finish in the top 10 for the first time in program history. The third consecutive year the Leopards have been honored, Wentworth had a grade point average of 3.14 and was one of 167 men's NCAA Division III programs to be honored.

Robbins earns his third straight spot on the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team after a stellar senior campaign which saw him finish in the top 10 six times, including a pair of first-place finishes. One of those finishes was at the Paul Short Invitational where he ran a season- and career-best time of 25:38.8. At the NCAA Division III Regionals, he placed 10th with a time of 25:43.0, earning him a spot at the national championship meet. At the CCC Championship Meet he finished second (26:39.2), which garnered him his fourth straight All-CCC nod. The Computer Science major was also named the 2017 CCC Senor Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Named to his second straight USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, Hopkins had three top 10 finishes, which included a first-place finish at the season-opening Wellesley College Invitational. He had a fourth-place finish at the Emmanuel Saints Invitational and ran a season-best 26:04.1 when the Mechanical Engineering major finished sixth at the Paul Short Invitational. A three-time All-CCC honoree, he finished 11th at the CCC Championship Meet (28:25.9) which helped the Leopards to their third straight title.

In order to qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors in cross country, an individual must have a minimum 3.30 grade point average and finish in the top 25 percent at their respective NCAA regional. To earn team honors, a team must have a minimum grade point average of 3.10 and have competed and completed its respective NCAA regional.

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