Women's Cross Country Wins Leaders and Best Award
9/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's cross country team has won the 2005-06 Leaders and Best Award, receiving the award for the fourth straight year. The citation is awarded to the U-M varsity team with the highest grade point average for the academic year.
"We talk about it in the first team meeting in the fall" said women's cross country head coach Mike McGuire of the award. "It is every bit the tradition for us to do well in the classroom as it is to do well in our sport. I think it's the byproduct of the attention to detail that our women have had. They are very goal oriented in the classroom as much, or more, than they are on the cross country course. They're truly here to take advantage of the academic opportunity that Michigan has available."
The award is given annually by former football letterman Larry Johnson. The women's cross country program will receive a trophy, created by U-M student Christina Ziegler, and a monetary award of $20,000, donated by Johnson.
The Leaders and Best Award was created by Johnson, who earned two varsity letters as a defensive lineman with the U-M football team in the mid-1970s. In 1974, he was awarded the Arthur D. Robinson Award as the outstanding athlete-scholar on the football team. The next year, he earned the Fielding H. Yost Honor Award for Football. Johnson graduated in 1975 with a BSE in environmental engineering.
Previous winners of the Leaders and Best Award include women's gymnastics in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, women's tennis in 2001-02 and women's cross country in 2002-03, '03-04, and '04-05.
Two other citations for grade point average were awarded for the 2005-06 season as well. The most improved grade point average for a male varsity team went to men's gymnastics, while the most improved grade point average for a female varsity team went to women's golf.
Contact: Tim Trunzo (734) 763-4423
