DALLAS – Conference USA Cross Country student-athletes shined both on the course and in the classroom as 12 were selected to the 2019 C-USA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Teams. Eight schools are represented on this year’s squads. North Texas leads the league with three honorees.
 
Two three-time selections – Florida Atlantic’s Lachlan Shiver and Louisiana Tech’s Conner Killian - highlight the 2019 teams.
 
As a biological sciences major, Shiver penned a 3.967 grade-point average (GPA). The senior broke the Owls’ program record in the 8k this season, making him the school record holder in both the 5k and the 8k. He has won three individual race titles in his career.
 
Killian, the Louisiana Tech SAAC President, holds a 3.926 GPA as a forestry major. The junior recently earned the Jimmy Collins award selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee and sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl for his humanitarian work in the cleanup following the Ruston tornado of April 2019. He has competed in two of three races for the Bulldogs this season.
 
Florian Lussy returns from the 2018 All-Academic Team this year. The recreation, event and sport management major posted a 3.806 GPA. The senior finished in third at last year’s C-USA Championship and looks to reclaim his First-Team All-Conference nod this campaign.
 
The Mean Green earned another selection in Caleb Bouchard. The sophomore biomedical engineering major boasts an unblemished 4.00 GPA and received the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal for the 2018-19 academic year. His best finish this season came at the Gerald Richey Invitational where he took fourth overall.
 
Marshall’s Joel Krznaric holds a perfect 4.00 GPA in economics, finance and applied mathematics. The junior raced in all three events for the Thundering Herd this season and posted a 22^nd-place finish at the Winthrop Invite.
 
Rounding out the men’s honorees is Rice’s Alex Dunbar. The mathematics and computational and applied math major compiled a 3.96 GPA. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, product set a 4-mile personal best with an eighth-place finish at the HBU Cross Country Invitational this season. The junior is a three-time C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal recipient.
 
On the women’s side, FIU’s Sherilene Gelderblom earned the second C-USA All-Academic Team honor of her career. The foreign language education major penned a 3.93 GPA. A recent graduate of FIU’s honors college, Gelderblom was named to the dean’s list for four consecutive semesters. This season, she placed in the top three for FIU in every race.
 
Charlotte’s Chandler Horton holds a 3.935 GPA while majoring in civil engineering. The sophomore finished last year’s C-USA Championships as a Third-Team All-Conference honoree and was the 49ers top finisher in each race she has competed in in 2019.
 
A C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal recipient, Florida Atlantic’s Madlen Kappeler compiled a 3.933 GPA earning her exercise science health promotion degree. The sophomore opened the 2019 season with a first-place finish at the FAU Invitational and finished fourth at the Gator Mountain Dew Invitational.
 
Brianna Hood represents Louisiana Tech on this year’s team. The chemistry major boasts a 3.97 GPA. A six-time Louisiana Tech AD Honor Roll member, the junior competed in all three events for the Lady Techsters this fall, finishing in a season-best 28^th place at the Mook 4 Invitational.
 
North Texas garners a third selection in Aubrey Schmidt. She posted a 3.923 GPA as a kinesiology major. The sophomore ran her best race of the 2019 season at the Gerald Richey Invitational where she finished third overall.
 
Southern Miss’ Emma Kate Holdbrooks rounds out the women’s team. The english licensure major holds a 3.970 GPA. A two-time C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal recipient, the sophomore has also excelled on the course as she ran a personal best this season at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.
 
2019 C-USA Men’s Cross Country All-Academic Team
***Lachlan Shiver | Florida Atlantic | Sr. | 3.967 | Biological Sciences
***Conner Killian | Louisiana Tech | Jr. | 3.926 | Forestry
Joel Krznaric | Marshall | Jr. | 4.00 | Economics, Finance and Applied Mathematics
Caleb Bouchard | North Texas | So. | 4.00 | Biomedical Engineering
*Florian Lussy | North Texas | Sr. | 3.806 | Recreation, Event and Sport Management
Alex Dunbar | Rice | Jr. | 3.96 | Mathematics/Computational and Applied Math
 
2019 C-USA Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Team
Chandler Horton | Charlotte | So. | 3.935 | Civil Engineering
*Sherilene Gelderblom | FIU | Gr. | 3.93 | Foreign Language Education
Madlen Kappeler | Florida Atlantic | So. | 3.933 | Exercise Science Health Promotion
Brianna Hood | Louisiana Tech | Jr. | 3.97 | Chemistry
Aubrey Schmidt | North Texas | So. | 3.923 | Kinesiology
Emma Kate Holdbrooks | Southern Miss | Jr. | 3.970 | English Licensure
 
*** Three-Time Selection
* Repeat Selection