W&J’s Galligan Earns Division III All-Academic Honor
WASHINGTON, Pa. - Washington & Jefferson College freshman Kristen Galligan (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson) was recently named to the 2011 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III All-Academic Cross Country Team.
Galligan’s teammate, Scott Ryan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) was honored with the same award for the men’s side last week.
A total of 183 student-athletes from 96 different institutions earned the academic distinction. Washington University of St. Louis had seven runners named to the all-academic squad to lead all schools. Chiara Del Piccolo of Williams College earned the Women’s Scholar Athlete of the Year Award.
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or greater through the most recent semester and placed among the top 35 finishers at a NCAA regional championship.
Galligan became the first women’s cross country runner from W&J to compete at the NCAA Division III Championship this fall. She finished in 179th place after running a time of 22:48.62 on the 277-runner, 6K course, just under two minutes behind the national champion, Del Piccolo.
Galligan earned a spot in the national championship race after finishing 13th at the NCAA Mideast Regional (23:22).
She was named to the All-PAC First Team after placing second at the conference championship race with a time of 23:42. She became the first Presidents’ woman earn First Team All-PAC accolades since Erin Long in 2008.
Galligan finished first at the Pitt-Greensburg Invitational on October 1 and posted five runner-up finishes this fall. She was named PAC Runner of the Week on two occasions.
