K-State Scores Conference-Leading Nine 4.0 GPAs, Lands 19 Student-Athletes on Academic All-Big 12 Cross Country Teams

K-State Scores Conference-Leading Nine 4.0 GPAs, Lands 19 Student-Athletes on Academic All-Big 12 Cross Country Teams

Dec 02, 2020 | Cross Country

IRVING, Texas – Setting the bar this fall season with a top conference mark of nine 4.0 GPAs, the Kansas State men's and women's cross country teams landed 19 student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 Cross Country teams, the conference office announced on Wednesday (December 2) morning.

A total of 10 Wildcats received Academic All-Big 12 honors for the first time in their careers with 17 honorees garnering First Team selections.

Those receiving First Team honors include seniors Travis Hodge, Cayli Hume, Kassidy Johnson and Cara Melgares, juniors Kerby Depenbusch, Mike Rohlinger and Cooper Schroeder and sophomores Jack Moore, Hadley Splechter, Jack Thomas, Sydney Burton, Helen Giefer, Delaney Kemp, Emma Lucas, Jaybe Shufelberger, Cailan Steward and Hannah Stewart. Juniors Dylan Brenneman and David Lutgen earned second-team all-academic honors to complete K-State's list.

The group of Hodge, Hume, Johnson, Melgares, Depenbusch, Brenneman, Lutgen, Rohlinger and Schroeder have now earned multiple Academic All-Big 12 honors in their careers.

The women's team collected all nine 4.0 GPAs during the fall semester, with Hume scoring her third-consecutive season with a perfect grade point average.

Throughout the Big 12, 28 honorees claimed a 4.0 grade point average.

In all, 149 selections were placed on the Academic All-Big 12 teams. Oklahoma State led all Big 12 programs with 24 combined First and Second Team selections.

To earn a spot on the All-Big 12 First Team, individuals must post a 3.20 GPA or better, while a 3.0 to 3.19 GPA places a student-athlete on the All-Big 12 Second Team.

To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 20 percent of their team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.

K-State finished the fall season with four top-five performances for both the men's and women's squads. The women's team earned their highest finish at the conference meet since 2001 with a fifth-place outing while the men's group captured their best finish at the Big 12 Championship since 2017, as the pack closed out the 8k meet with a fourth-overall finish. Schroeder and Shufelberger notched All-Big 12 honors in both the 6k and 8k races at the Big 12 Championship, with Shufelberger becoming the first Wildcat since Laura Galvan (2012-14) to record back-to-back top-15 performances at the conference meet.

Men's
First Team (3.20+ GPA) (*Denotes 4.0 GPA)
Kerby Depenbusch (Jr., Sociology-Criminology)
Travis Hodge (Sr., Nutritional Sciences/Psychology/Gerontology)
Jack Moore (Soph., Open Option)
Michael Rohlinger (Jr., Finance/Management)
Cooper Schroeder (Jr., Business Administration)
Hadley Splechter (Soph., Kinesiology)
Jack Thomas (Soph., Biology)

Second Team (3.00-3.19)
Dylan Brenneman (Jr., Chemical Engineering)
David Lutgen (Jr., Biological Systems Engineering)

Women's
First Team (3.20+ GPA) (*Denotes 4.0 GPA)
Sydney Burton (Soph., Dietetics)*
Helen Giefer (Soph., Animal Sciences and Industry)*
Cayli Hume (Sr., Nutritional Sciences)*
Kassidy Johnson (Sr., Dietetics)*
Delaney Kemp (Soph., Kinesiology/Nutrition and Kinesiology)
Emma Lucas (Soph., Biological Systems Engineering)*
Cara Melgares (Sr., Accounting)*
Jaybe Shufelberger (Soph., Business Administration/Natural Resource and Environmental Science)
Cailan Steward (Soph., Architecture)*
Hannah Stewart (Soph., Kinesiology)*

For the latest on K-State cross country follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.