From Joe Venniro, executive director of Sports Information at RIT:
ROCHESTER -- Senior Jennifer Crossen (Basom, Oakfield-Alabama HS) and junior Becca Schwan (Le Roy, LeRoy HS) of the RIT women's track and field team were named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Women's Track/Cross Country Team, selected by CoSIDA, which recognizes the nation's top student athletes for their combined performances on the playing field and in the classroom.
First-team Academic All-District® honorees advance to the Google Cloud Academic All-America® ballot, with Google Cloud Academic All-America® teams to be announced in June.
Crossen, who carries a tremendous 3.96 grade-point average as a Chemical Engineering major, was named co-winner of the 2018 Dr. Mark Ellingson Award for Academic Excellence, given by the RIT Athletics department.
Crossen earned her second consecutive USTFCCCA All-Academic accolade during the 2017 cross-country season. She earned an impressive 37th-place finish in a season-best time of 22:59.9 at the Atlantic Region Championship, just missing All-Region accolades. Crossen was also 22nd overall at the Highlander Invitational and 37th at the Liberty League Championship. She earned Liberty League Cross Country All-Academic Team accolades in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
On May 14, Crossen broke an outdoor track and field school record in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:41.66 at the Swarthmore Final Qualifier Meet. She was also third in the same event at the Liberty League Championship and was victorious at the Cardinal Classic. Crossen was also part of the victorious distance medley team at the 2018 Liberty League Indoor Track and Field Championship. She is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic team selection.
Schwan enjoyed a tremendous season for the Tigers in 2017-18, as a top competitor in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field. She carries a strong 3.88 grade-point average, majoring in both Marketing and Hospitality and Tourism Management.
During the cross-country season, Schwan was the race winner at the season-opening Highlander Twilight Invitational on Sept. 1 and was RIT's top runner in four additional events. Schwan finished seventh at the Liberty League Championship, earning All-Liberty League first team honors, her second-straight league honor.
She also earned All-Region honors at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship, finishing 21st with an overall season-best time of 22:44.4, one spot shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championship. In addition, she recorded two more top-10 finishes during the season and earned USTFCCCA and Liberty League All-Academic team honors for the second-straight year.
Schwan made her first appearance at the NCAA Championships during the indoor season, competing in the 800-meters. She won three events (800-meters, 4 x 400-meter relay and distance medley relay) at the 2018 Liberty League Indoor Track and Field Championship Feb. 23-24. During the outdoor season, Schwan broke a school record at the Swarthmore Final Qualifier meet on May 14, crossing the finish line in 4:37.27 and was also part of the 4 x 400-meter relay team that shattered a school mark at the All-Region Championship (3:59.07).
Schwan won the 1,500-meters at the Liberty League Championship and All-Region honors during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. She is also a two-time Liberty League All-Academic selection.
