NEW ORLEANS, La. — The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced its 2008 NCAA Division III USTFCCCA Women's All-Academic Cross Country Teams Tuesday (March 3) afternoon, and Marietta College earned the honor for the seventh straight season.

Head Coach Derek Stanley's squad showed vast improvement over the course of the 2008 season, culminating in a fifth place finish at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship and a 12th place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet.

Members of Marietta's team included senior Jessi Larrison (Batavia), juniors Shannon McDonald (Lorain/Amherst Steele) (Lorain/Amherst Steele), Brenda Puckett (Eaton/Preble Shawnee) (Eaton/Preble Shawnee), Randi Robertson (Avon Lake/Avon Lake) (Avon Lake), Kaity Smith (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) (Essex Junction, Vt.) and Logan Wern (North Canton/Hoover) (North Canton/Hoover) and sophomores Mehgan Cline (Dublin/Coffman) (Dublin/Coffman) and Chelsea Kamody (Amherst/Amherst Steele) as well as freshmen Paige Bucher (Cardington/Cardington) (Cardington), Leyna Chovan (North Canton), Jennifer Emmert (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) (Martinsburg, W.Va.), Reba Leonard (Brookville/Brookville) (Brookville) and Julie Rutter (The Plains). The cumulative grade point average for the team was 3.170.

Forty-percent of all Division III institutions (394) who sponsor women's cross country received the honor in 2008. In addition, 30 of the 32 teams in the championship field at this year's NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship were named USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams, including every team who finished in the top ten.

For a team to be considered for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, it must have competed and compiled a team score at a NCAA Regional Meet. The team must also have a minimum 3.10 team cumulative grade point average.