I sat silently in the cafeteria, waiting to give a tour to potential students. These were not just any normal students; they were the future signees for our football program. The school had rolled out the red carpets for this forty-odd group of high school seniors. I was currently sitting in the back of the small cafeteria listening to the Clearinghouse rules. I was not paying much attention until the minimum ACT/SAT and GPA were mentioned. The numbers shocked me. To participate in Division II sports, all one needs is an ACT score of 17 or a SAT score of 820 and a GPA of 2.0. What troubled me even more was that some of the football players in attendance were still trying to raise their GPA so that they could play for the college. Such low standards are disappointing to me, for these athletes are receiving scholarships to attend college in order to gain an education. Yet, I know it is ridiculous to think that many of these athletes will put school before their sport since they chose not to do so in high school. Eventually, these students will either flunk out of or barely get by in college, thus wasting the college education they were offered. Students, including myself and a number of my friends, find it frustrating when such athletes show up late to class and do not participate once they are there. Generally, they tend to diminish the quality of the classroom experience and the reputation of the school. Yet, these athletes are getting paid to attend the college and this money could be going to someone more deserving. When confronted with the low-standards to which athletes are held, I was all the more overjoyed that the NCAA All-Academic list for cross-country was released since this list highlights the academic achievements of athletes. It celebrates those athletes who are dedicated to excellence and who contribute to their academic communities and to their sport. To qualify for individual All- Academic honors, all student-athletes must complete 24 semester or 36 quarter hours and have a 3.25 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). For DII cross-country runners, one must finish in the top 30 percent of individual runners at the regional meet. To be eligible for the team award, teams submit a roster for consideration that includes all student-athletes whose names appear on the NCAA eligibility form and who have competed in 50 percent or more of the cross-country competitions on the team's schedule. Furthermore, the team must compete at the NCAA Division II regional championships and have a team cumulative grade point average of 3.0. On the women’s side, Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler was picked as the top student-athlete for the 2007 cross-country season, thus winning the top individual All-Academic honors. Pixler, who won the individual title at the Division II cross-country championships in November, is no stranger to top honors. The women’s squad from Adams State was honored with the team All-American award by winning the team title at the Division II cross-country championships and having a 3.5 GPA. Adams State’s Aaron Braun won the men’s award. Braun was the runner-up at the championship race. He boasts a 3.7 GPA and is a math education major. Abilene Christian took the men’s team honors. So why is All-Academic so important? Only a small percentage of college runners turn professional and are able to make a living off of running. By applying the same work ethic we have for our running to our college education, we will be able to be successful. We will be able to graduate and be able to achieve our professional goals and endeavors. We will be putting our college education to good use. We will not simply be wasting scholarship money. We will be able to be leaders in the real world and contribute to society. Who knows, one of us could be the next president. Perhaps become a CEO of a major company. Power and money are not the only measures of success; perhaps one of us will work for a nonprofit and fix a major world crisis. If we can translate our passion for running to other aspects our lives, we can change the world for the better and improve the profile of our sport. We need to remember we wear many different pairs of shoes; athlete and student just happen to be two. Congratulations to all who made the All-Academic list. Meets for the Weekend of February 15 There were several big meets this weekend below is a brief recap of some Division II results and Flotrack has the rest of the results up so you can look at them yourself. All-Ohio Indoor T & F Championships Findlay’s Kirby Blackley set the woman’s meet record in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.33 and automatically qualifying for the National indoor meet. Ashland’s Steph Tinney preliminary qualified for the National meet by running a 56.73 for a 400m. Findlay’s Kristi Comstock won the 800m in the time of 2:15. Ashland’s Jennifer Tinney won the shot put with a throw of 15.16m. Tiffin’s Jeremy Lee won the men’s mile in the time with 4:18. Ashland’s Tom Scott won the 800m with 1:55. Tyson Invitational Abilene Christian was out in full force this weekend. On the men’s side in the mile, Julius Nyango and Daniel Maina finished third and fourth, respectively, with automatic qualifying times of 4:08.55 and 4:09.55, respectively. Also posting an automatic qualifying time was Desmond Jackson, who clocked in at 6.78 seconds in the 60 meter preliminaries. On the women's side, Winrose Karunda finished second in the 5000 meters in an automatic qualifying time of 16:57.19. Loice Cheboi was eighth in the event with a preliminary time of 17: 13.09. Azraa Rounds clocked an automatic qualifying mark of 55.15 in the 400 meter prelims, while Keva Wilkins clocked a preliminary qualifying time of 55.96 in the event. Grand Valley State University Open Grand Valley’s Ashley Jager won the 200 meters with a time of 26.77 for a preliminary qualifying time. Her teammate, Katherin McCarthy won the mile in a time of 4:58 clocking an automatic qualifying time. Teammate, Kelly Gibson, ran a preliminary qualifying time in the mile of 5:05.