University of Minnesota Athletics
Nation's Largest CC Team Posts 3.54 GPA
6/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
The Minnesota women’s cross country team sets lofty goals each season, both athletically and academically. More so, this Golden Gopher squad which is annually the largest in the nation numbering over 50 student-athletes achieves those goals.
The Golden Gophers have enjoyed plenty of success on the course, winning back-to-back Big Ten Conference titles (2007, 2008) and building on a string of four top-12 NCAA finishes (2005-08). In addition, the Gopher women harriers compiled an impressive 3.54 cumulative grade point average for the 2008-09 school year, the highest team GPA in the Minnesota Athletic Department for the last year.
“I am constantly impressed with not only the athletic dedication of these women, but also their consistent drive to be great students,” said veteran Golden Gopher head coach Gary Wilson. “They are truly amazing young women!”
In the spring semester alone, the squad posted a sparkling 3.62 team GPA. Nine Gophers, or 18 percent of the roster, earned perfect 4.0 GPAs in the spring term. Those top-notch student-athletes were Gabriele Anderson, Heather Dorniden, Katelan Dyson, Becca Gusmer, Danielle LeBreck, Meghan Mason, Kathryn Ritter, Kelly Wilson and Elizabeth Yetzer.
The Gophers tied for 11th at the 2008 NCAA Championships. Minnesota is one of only three schools (Illinois and Stanford the others) of 324 NCAA Division I programs to finish in the top 12 at the NCAA Championships in each of the last four seasons.
Players Mentioned
