IRVING, Texas – Conference USA student-athletes continuously showcase their dedication to excelling both in competition and in the classroom as 12 were selected to the 2017 InTouch Credit Union C-USA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Teams. Ten programs are represented with pairs of Charlotte and Louisiana Tech honorees named to each team.

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Middle Tennessee senior Sampson Laari and UTEP junior Antony Kosgei return as repeat all-academic winners from 2016. Laari presents a 3.775 GPA as a sport, leisure and tourism studies major, and was named the 2017 C-USA Track & Field Scholar Athlete of the Year. His achievements extend far beyond his schoolwork as Laari earned Outstanding Senior and first team All-Conference at the 2017 C-USA Championships, where Middle Tennessee claimed its first league title. Kosgei dons a 3.42 while studying industrial engineering. The Miner competed in all seven of UTEP’s meets this season, taking first in a dual meet against Texas Tech and garnered three second-place finishes.
 
Charlotte’s Todd Gunzenhauser and WKU’s Taylor Scarbrough both boast 4.0 GPAs in mechanical engineering and finance, respectively. Redshirt freshman Gunzenhauser earned spots on the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Athletic Director’s List, Chancellor’s List, and was awarded the league’s Commissioner’s Academic Medal last season. The 49er runner placed eighth in his collegiate debut at the Charlotte Preview.
 
Scarbrough was one of three Hilltoppers to appear in every meet during the fall, and posted a career-best 8K time at the 2017 NCAA Pre-Nationals. The sophomore was a 2016-17 C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Media recipient and made the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
 
Louisiana Tech’s Conner Killian crafted a 3.86 as a forestry major as one of two Bulldog all-academic selections this season. The redshirt freshman raced in all five meets and recorded three top-10 finishes, twice being Louisiana Tech’s top runner. Killian was highlighted on the 2017 C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll, while serving as a recipient of the conference’s Academic Medal.
 
Lachlan Shiver of Florida Atlantic rounds out the men’s all-academic selections. A sophomore studying biology, Shiver pens a 3.963 GPA and competed in all five meets for the Owls, besting his 8K time at the conference championship in Clinton, Mississippi. He was the first Owl to cross the finish line in 10th at the season-opening FAU Invitational.
 
On the women’s team, Kacie Kaufman appears for the second year in a row after producing a 4.0 with a focus in communication. The junior is also a two-time recipient of the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Kaufman became Louisiana Tech’s top finisher in all four meets she competed in and claimed first a second-consecutive year at the Bulldogs’ Mook Four Triple-Duals.
 
Katie Tomasi’s 4.0 as a biology major earned her an all-conference nod. Tomasi’s list of academic accolades continues to grow as she was also recognized as part of the C-USA Commissioners Honor Roll, Athletic Director’s List, Chancellor’s List, while notching the 2016 C-USA Commissioners Academic Medal. Tomasi was a 2017 third team All-Conference winner and earned a second top-10 finish at the William & Mary Invitational.
 
2017 C-USA Outstanding Senior Emily Drouin was a first team All-Conference pick on top of her 3.89 GPA as a nursing student. She was given 2016 Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll accolades and helped UAB receive an All-Academic nomination from USTFCCCA. Drouin posted a 6K PR at the Crimson Classic, good for 17^th, and led the Blazers over C-USA foes Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss.
 
Elsa Racasan of Rice earned a 4.11 GPA in her kinesiology studies. The senior is a five-time President’s Honor Roll winner, the 2017 Rice Scholar Athlete of the Year for women’s cross country and the 2017 Margie E. Sass Athlete of the Year. Not to mention a second team All-Conference honoree this season.
 
The final two members of the team are seniors Victoria Junious of North Texas and Courtney Filliben of Southern Miss. Junious posted a 3.98 GPA in kinesiology and competed in all of North Texas’ meets this year. She’s a three-time C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal winner and three-time Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection.
 
Filliben constructed a 3.87 GPA as a microbiology major. The senior finished a season-best fifth at the Mississippi College Opener, was named to the league’s Commissioner’s Honor Roll and became a C-USA Academic Medalist in 2016-17. She also was labeled to Southern Miss’ President’s List this year.
 
 
2017 InTouch Credit Union C-USA Men’s Cross Country All-Academic Team
Todd Gunzenhauser | Charlotte | RS Fr. | 4.00 | Mechanical Engineering
Lachlan Shiver | Florida Atlantic | So. | 3.96 | Biology
Conner Killian | Louisiana Tech | RS Fr. | 3.86 | Forestry
*Sampson Laari | Middle Tennessee | Sr. | 3.775 | Sport, Leisure and Tourism Studies
*Antony Kosgei | UTEP | Jr. | 3.42 | Industrial Engineering
Taylor Scarbrough | WKU | So. | 4.0 Finance
 
 
2017 InTouch Credit Union C-USA Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Team
Katie Tomasi | Charlotte | So. | 4.00 | Biology
*Kacie Kaufman | Louisiana Tech | Jr. | 4.00 | Communication
Victoria Junious | North Texas | Sr. | 3.98 | Kinesiology
Elsa Racasan | Rice | Sr. | 4.11 | Kinesiology
Courtney Filliben | Southern Miss | Sr. | 3.87 | Microbiology
Emily Drouin | UAB | Sr. | 3.89 | Nursing
 
*Repeat Selections