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TOWSON, Md. — Senior David McNeill of Northern Arizona topped the 2009-10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Men’s Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, as chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
McNeill and Mark Husted of the Colorado School of Mines have been selected as the winners of the Academic All-America® of the Year award in the University and College Divisions, respectively.
An Exercise Science major with a 3.75 G.P.A., McNeill won the NCAA Division I indoor and outdoor championships in the 5,000-meter run. Two weeks ago, he ran a 13:44.81 in the 5,000-run to claim the outdoor title at Oregon. A repeat selection on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Men’s Track and Field and Cross Country University Division first team, he also led the Lumberjacks to a fourth place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championship Meet by finishing as national runner-up.
A nine-time All-American, he was honored as the 2010 Mountain Region Male Track Athlete of the Year for cross country, indoor and outdoor track. At the 2010 NCAA Indoor Meet, he led Northern Arizona to an eighth place finish by winning the national title in the 5,000-meter run and taking second place in the 3,000-meter run. The school record holder in the 5,000-meter run, the Melbourne, Australia native led Northern Arizona to a second place finish at the Big Sky Conference outdoor championship.
At the Big Sky Meet, he won conference titles in the 1500-meter run and the 5000-run for the third year in a row. McNeill, who set the school record in the 5,000-run at the Stanford Invitational, was also named as the NCAA Division I Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Cross Country Coaches Association.
Montana State's Matt Adams was named third team academic all-american. The senior from Seward, Alaska finished with 4.00 GPA while majoring in Environmental Science. He qualified for this year’s NCAA Midwest Regionals, and stands fifth on MSU’s all-time records list in the steeple chase.