AUM News
The AUM cross country team placed four runners on the Southern States Athletic Conference All-Academic team.
The AUM cross country team placed four runners on the Southern States Athletic Conference All-Academic team.
Cross Country - Thu. Nov. 17, 2011
NORCROSS, Ga. ---- Following its inaugural season of competition, several members of the Auburn University at Montgomery men's and women's cross country teams were honored by the Southern States Athletic Conference on its postseason awards list.

Four Warhawks, senior Rachel Cunningham, junior Katherine Toy and sophomores Savannah Brown and Jery McGough were selected to the SSAC All-Academic team for their work in the classroom.

To qualify for the All-Academic team, a student-athlete must have completed two terms of attendance and earned at least 24 semester hours of college level work, have attained a grade point average of 3.25 or higher based on all courses attempted at the current institution and from all previously attended institutions attended, and be participating in his or her sport during the semester in which the nomination is made.

Cunningham finished with the program's top three times at the 5K distance, including a school-record time of 20:56 at the SSAC Championships. The Winchester, Tenn., native was the top finisher for the Warhawks in all six meets and also holds the school record for time in a 6K event.

A native of Sugar Land, Texas, Toy also enjoyed a strong first season, placing second in all six events for the Warhawks. She also recorded a season-best time at the conference championship, finishing in 21:34, a mark which ranks fourth-best in the program's young history.

Brown, who is from Douglas, Ala., was one of AUM's most consistent performers, finishing with a personal-best time of 22:57 at the Gulf Coast Stampede. McGough, a Montgomery native, posted a personal-best time of 24:08 at the Spring Hill Badger Brawl for the men's team.

The conference also announced its Musco Lighting Champions of Character Teams, on which AUM was represented by Cunningham on the women's side and freshman Adam Russell on the men's side.

Russell, who is from Trussville, Ala., paced the men's squad in each event, posting school records in both the 5K and 8K distances.

On the women's side, Lee's Maggie Opelt earned Runner of the Year honors, while the Lady Flames' Cayce Byran and Ashley Matthews earned Freshman and Newcomer of the Year accolades, respectively. Shorter's Eliud Ng'etich was the men's Runner of the Year, with teammate Daniel Sorenson garnering Newcomer of the Year honors. Emmanuel's Leonel Ayala was the Freshman of the Year.