Red Wolves - IU East

Indiana University East's cross country runners excelled on running courses and in their academic courses during the 2009-10 school year.

The Red Wolves men's and women's cross country teams received NAIA Scholar-Team honors for the 2009-10 school year, the NAIA announced July 28.

A team must have a minimum 3.0 combined GPA (on a 4.0 scale) to earn the NAIA Scholar-Team award.

The Red Wolves cross country teams are the first IU East teams to receive NAIA Scholar-Team recognition.

"It's great our runners were able to excel in both athletics and academics," said IU East cross country coach Pam Mertz. "They found time to do it all."

IU East's men's cross country team included James Healton (Centerville, Ind./Centerville High School), Jon Strong (Connersville, Ind./Connersville High School), Jordan Kearney (Centerville, Ind./Centerville High School), Nick Reece (Fountain City, Ind./Richmond High School), Sean Schuyler (Straughn, Ind./Tri-High School) and Zach Burns (Cambridge City, Ind./Lincoln High School).

The Red Wolves' women's cross country roster included Kelsey West (Cambridge City, Ind./Lincoln High School), Nicole House (Hagerstown, Ind./Hagerstown High School) and Vanessa Legg (Lynn, Ind./Randolph Southern High School).

A record total of 857 teams, an increase over last year's total of 837, received the award.

The Iowa Wesleyan volleyball team was named the 2009-10 NAIA Scholar-Team of the Year.

Click here to read the full announcement from the NAIA.