SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the second-straight fall semester, the Augustana men's and women's cross country teams swept the AD's Academic Achievement Award Augustana Director of Athletics Josh Morton announced Wednesday.
 
"I look forward to awarding this every semester and continue to be impressed by our student-athletes commitment to distinction in the classroom," Morton said. "This fall was another close contest and I'm proud of our cross country teams for not only finishing in the top-10 in the nation in competition, but for excelling in the classroom as well." 
 
The award, first handed out in the 2020-21 academic year, honors the top men's and women's team GPA for each semester. The Viking women's cross country team recorded a 3.85 GPA while the men's squad held a 3.58 GPA.
 
"Our program has always put a very high priority on academic excellence," Augustana director of track & field/cross country Tracy Hellman said. "This award is a testament to the student athletes who made their academic endeavors important while striving to be one of the best cross-country team in NCAA Division II.

"The balance of quality academics and quality athletics is something that makes Augustana special. I am very proud of both teams to earn this honor and it speaks volumes for the quality student-athletes that our program strives to attract."

The success in the classroom mimicked the success in competition for Viking cross country as the women's team placed fifth at the national meet and the men's team placed seventh.
 
In all, the Augustana athletics department totaled 88 4.0 GPAs across all 21 sports with 205 student-athletes holding a 3.5 or better. The overall department GPA for the fall semester was 3.449.
 
The men's cross country team has now been awarded the AD's Academic Achievement Award four times while the women's cross country team has been awarded it twice.
 

Semester	Women's Team	Men's Team
Fall 2020	Volleyball (3.73)	Men's Golf (3.54)
Spring 2021	Volleyball (3.683)	Men's Cross Country (3.374)
Fall 2021	Women's Cross Country (3.817)	Men's Cross Country (3.568)
Spring 2022	Women's Golf (3.659)	Men's Cross Country (3.605)
Fall 2022	Women's Cross Country (3,85)	Men's Cross Country (3.58)