By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fifteen student-athletes representing the Fort Hays State cross country program were listed on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll, released Tuesday (Nov. 5) by the league office. Three Tigers picked up additional honors, including Carson Pierce earning the Academic Excellence Award, Seppe van ‘t Westende picking up Scholar-Athlete honors and Abigail Stewart achieving both Scholar-Athlete and Academic Excellence status.
By carrying a perfect 4.00 GPA and finishing with All-MIAA honors at the MIAA Championships, Stewart is one of just four student-athletes in the league to earn both distinguished awards.
To be recognized on the Academic Honor Roll, one must have a grade point average used by the institution for purposes of NCAA academic certification of 3.00 at the certifying member institution. The individual must also have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms. Transfers and true freshman are recognized at the conclusion of the school year, after they meet the two terms of attendance requirement.
To qualify as a Scholar-Athlete an individual must have a grade point average used by the institution for purposes of NCAA academic certification of 3.50 at the certifying member institution. They must also have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms. If competing in a championship sport of the MIAA, the student-athlete must earn All-MIAA honors.
An MIAA Academic Excellence Award recipient must have a grade point average used by the institution for purposes of NCAA academic certification of 4.00 or better at the certifying member institution. The honoree also must have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms.
Stewart earned All-MIAA honors after placing 19th at the MIAA Championships, completing the 6k race in 22:44.9. In the men’s 8k race at the league meet, van ‘t Westende finished 12th in a personal-best 25:10 to earn a spot on the all-conference podium. The Dutch senior was one of four male student-athletes to earn Scholar-Athlete status.
The complete list of Fort Hays State cross country MIAA Academic Honor Roll recipients is below.
| Name | Class | GPA | Major | Hometown |
| Mia Bond | So. | 3.46 | Health & Human Performance (Exercise Science) | Tonganoxie, Kan. |
| Tessa Durnell | Sr. | 3.28 | Communication Sciences & Disorders | Harwood, Mo. |
| Mirena Goncalves | Sr. | 3.45 | Health & Human Performance | Caracas, Venezuela |
| Rylea Oliver | So. | 3.47 | Medical Diagnostic Imaging | Basehor, Kan. |
| Carson Pierce | So. | 4.00 | Chemistry | Wichita, Kan. |
| Abigail Stewart | So. | 4.00 | Biology (Health Professions) | Emporia, Kan. |
| Averi Wilson | So. | 3.91 | Nursing | Garnett, Kan. |
| Israel Barco | R-Sr. | 3.32 | Chemistry | Elkhart, Kan. |
| Kaleb Crum | R-Jr. | 3.44 | History (Secondary Ed) | Lamar, Colo. |
| Michael Eisenbarth | Sr. | 3.78 | Communication (Public Relations) | Onaga, Kan. |
| Peter Franklin | Sr. | 3.70 | Biology (Health Professions) | Loveland, Colo. |
| Jorge Gallegos | So. | 3.96 | Health & Human Performance | Leoti, Kan. |
| Reed Rome | Sr. | 3.37 | Agricultural Business | Hugoton, Kan. |
| Robbie Schmidt | Jr. | 3.57 | Accounting | Topeka, Kan. |
| Seppe van ‘t Westende | Sr. | 3.57 | Masters of Business Administration | Rotterdam, Netherlands |
Scholar-Athlete Award recipients in bold
Academic Excellence Award recipients in italics