UD Cross Country Earns SCAC Team Sportsmanship Award
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The University of Dallas men’s and women’s cross country teams both were recognized by the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as the winners of the Team Sportsmanship award. This is the first time that either of these programs have been awarded this accolade.
The SCAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee instituted the award prior to the 2016-17 academic year in an effort to honor the team that best portrays good sportsmanship and fair play from the players and coaches during the season. The fall awards are presented in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer and volleyball. UD's sweep of the cross country Team Sportsmanship awards marks the fourth consecutive year one program has received both men's and women's recognition.
The awards were voted on by each member institution's SAAC, with each individual group ranking the top three teams in each sport. The first place selections were awarded five points, second place earned three points and third place earned one point. Points were then totaled to select the conference's overall winner.
The women’s cross country team finished third at this year’s SCAC cross country championships, while the men’s team came in seventh at conference race in Colorado Springs, Colorado in early November. Anna Wilgenbusch (St. Paul, Minn.) had an incredible year running on the women’s team after she won her first nine races of the season (including the SCAC Championship) and became the first UD women’s cross country runner to compete at the NCAA Division III National Championships this season. Wilgenbusch became the first UD women’s athlete to gather an All-American award after she finished 38th at this race.
Wilgenbusch accumulated the following awards this year: NCAA Division III All-American, 2019 NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region Runner-of-the-Year, 2019 USTFCCCA NCAA Division III All-Region, 2019 SCAC Women's Cross Country Runner-of-the-Year, 2019 First Team SCAC All-Conference, 2019 First Team USCAA National All-American, 2019 USCAA National All-Academic Team, and four-time SCAC Runner of the Week.
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Fall 2019 Team Sportsmanship Award Winners
Men's Cross Country: University of Dallas
Women's Cross Country: University of Dallas
Men's Soccer: Texas Lutheran University
Women's Soccer: Southwestern University
Volleyball: Johnson & Wales University (Denver)