All-AmerThe Minnesota women's cross country team and junior Darja Vasiljeva (Jelgava, Latvia/Jelgava) were accorded Academic All-America honors by USA Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches.

The Golden Gophers were recognized as an All-Academic Cross Country Team With Distinction after compiling a team grade point average of 3.38. Leading the squad to its impressive team GPA were eight Gophers who were selected as Academic All-Big Ten honorees last fall: Laura Bjork (Colfax, Wis./Colvax), Jill Field (Barnesville, Minn./Barnesville), Kristine Hartmark (Duluth, Minn./East), Sarah Hesser (Minneapolis, Minn./South), Paula Hoffert (Lewiston, Minn./Lewiston-Altura), Kimberly Magee (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson), Zoe Nagell (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale-Armstrong) and Vasiljeva.

Vasiljeva was one of 43 student-athletes to earn Academic All-America honors. To be eligible, the athlete must have earned a minimum GPA of 3.25, be a sophomore, junior or senior and either earned NCAA All-America honors or placed in the top 10 percent of their NCAA regional meet. Vasilijeva placed fifth in the NCAA Midwest Regional and went on to place 87th at the NCAA Championships last fall. She owns a 3.63 GPA majoring in African-American Studies.