USTFCCCA Team Awards | Men's Individual Awards | Women's Individual Awards

Five Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference student-athletes and three teams received U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA honors as announced by the organization earlier this week.

Jacob DeAndrade and Kira Gilbreath of Bridgewater State along with William Canty, Kerri Long and Lexi Popp of Westfield State were recognized individually. The Bridgewater State women's outdoor team plus the Westfield State men's and women's team received team accolades. 

DeAndrade, who is majoring in management, wrapped up his first year at Bridgewater State with an overall GPA of 3.57. The Taunton, Massachusetts native ranked 49th in the 200-meter dash during the 2018-2019 indoor track & field season.

A physical education major, Gilbreath graduated this past May with a cumulative 3.89 GPA. The West Haven, Utah product placed 18th in the shot put at the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships and ranked 34th in the shot for the indoor campaign.

Canty, a movement science major from South Grafton, Mass., earned All-American accolades in May after finishing seventh in the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Long recently graduated with a degree in psychology from Westfield State. The Weymouth, Mass. native finished the outdoor season 31st in the 400 meter hurdles. Also a psychology graduate, Popp of Westford, Mass. was named an All-American during the NCAA Championship with a fourth place finish in the 400 meter hurdles. 

A total of 1,093 Division III student-athletes from across the nation earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for the 2018-2019 academic year. To qualify for the all-academic honor, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher and must have met at least one of the following athletic standards:

• Competed in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship
• Finished the regular season ranked in the national top-50 in an individual event or ranked in the national top-35 in a relay event on the official NCAA Descending Order List.

Bridgewater State and Westfield State join 294 teams that were recognized for the academic success by the USTFCCCA. Under the helm of Head Coach Connor Foley, the Bears' women's team finished with a 3.36 GPA. For the Owls under Coach Sean O'Brien, the men closed out the year with a 3.24 GPA and the women with a 3.48 team GPA. 

Portions of this release courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information