FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-108-06-07
Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Elizabethtown College Cross Country Teams Named All-Academic Squads, Seven Blue Jays Named to All-Academic Teams by U.S. Track & Cross Country Coaches’ Association

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Both the Elizabethtown College men’s and women’s cross country teams have been honored by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) as All-Academic squads for the 2006 season. Additionally, seven Blue Jay runners – five women and two men – have earned spots on the USTFCCCA’s All-Academic Team for 2006.

The Elizabethtown women’s cross country team posted a cumulative grade point average of 3.495 to earn the team award from the USTFCCCA, while the Elizabethtown men’s cross country team had a cumulative grade point average of 3.366 to earn the award as well.

Five members of the Etown women’s cross country team earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team status by posting a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher and finishing in the top 25% of the Mideast Regional Championship field. They are senior Tara Fagan (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland), junior Erin Fisher (McEwensville, PA/Warrior Run), and sophomores Samantha Jones (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area), Tiffany Kulp (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) and Allison Rahtes (Coopersburg, PA/Palisades).

Fagan was the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation (MASCAC) Scholar-Athlete for women’s cross country for the fall 2006 season. She finished 14th at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships to earn All-MAC Second Team honors, and she finished 45th in the Mideast Regional Championships. Fisher was the MAC Individual Champion, finishing first in a field of 132 at the MAC Championships to earn All-MAC First Team honors as well. Fisher also finished fifth out of 281 finishers at the Mideast Regionals to earn all-region status, and she finished 67th out of 279 finishers as the Blue Jays’ top runner at the NCAA Division III Championships. Jones finished 51st in the Mideast Region and 21st at the MAC Championships in 2006. Kulp was an All-MAC First Team member with an eighth place finish at the MAC Championships, and she was an All-Mideast Region runner with a 30th place finish at the regionals. Rahtes finished 16th at the MAC Championships to earn a spot on the All-MAC Second Team, and she finished 48th in the Mideast Region.

Two members of the Elizabethtown men’s cross country team earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors as well. They are senior Jason Theobald (Honesdale, PA/Honesdale) and sophomore Brandon Bear (York, PA/Eastern York), each of whom have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher while placing in the top 25% of the field at the Mideast Regional Championships.

Theobald was an All-MAC First Team member in 2006 with a sixth place finish at the MAC Championships, and he placed 42nd out of 268 finishers at the Mideast Regionals. Bear earned All-Mideast Region status with a 29th place finish at the regionals, and he was an All-MAC Second Team member with an 11th place finish at the MAC Championships.