SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Strong on the trails and in the classroom. That's the mantra of the 2019 Cross Country teams at Saint Mary's College, who were well represented on the 2019 WCC All-Academic team, announced this afternoon by the conference office. Three men's student-athletes were named to the team, while five from the women's squad qualified for the honors, giving Saint Mary's a grand total of eight.
 
Each team was able to land one with first team honors, with Alex Riggsby earning the nod on the men's side, and Abigayle Mitchell on the women's team. Riggsby is one of the regulars on the cross country team for the Gaels, having competed in all six races during the 2019 season, and posted a personal best of 25:03 at the Bronco Invite on October 19 with a 25:03. Mitchell also ran in all six races for the Gaels, and earned a third-place finish in the record book for her efforts at the Bronco Invite, where she posted a 21:03. Both just concluded their senior seasons, and Riggsby carries a 3.77 GPA as a Politics major while Mitchell owns a 3.93 GPA as a Global Studies major.
 
In addition, six other Gaels were named as All-Academic honorable mention in the West Coast Conference, starting with Thomas Bell and Anthony Vazquez of the men's team. Both Bell and Vazquez completed their sophomore cross country seasons, with Vazquez competing at the WCC Championships in November. Bell owns a 3.75 GPA while Vazquez has his GPA sit at 3.47.
 
The four women who were named to the honorable mention group are Ellen Burbank, Kaela Dishion, Emma McCarthy, and Kathryn Watson. Burbank has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average as a biology major, in her junior year. Dishion is a Psychology major with a 3.62 GPA, McCarthy is in Environmental Studies with a 3.69 GPA, and Watson is an Economics major with a 3.82 GPA.
 
All-in-all, 20 student-athletes were named to the WCC All-Academic team, with an additional 88 earning honorable mention honors. At the conclusion of each athletic season, the WCC selects an all-academic squad for each WCC-sponsored sport. To be considered, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, while also being a significant contributor to his or her team.