The Gopher Women's Cross Country team placed seven members of its squad on the Big Ten Conference Distinguished Scholar Athletes list, announced today by the Big Ten Conference. Having earned a 3.7 grade point average or higher from the previous academic year, 534 student-athletes across the Big Ten Conference received the award.  The University of Minnesota tied with Michigan State University after each placing 68 student-athletes to the list. 
Among the 68 Gophers, the team had three with a perfect 4.0 GPA during the academic season. Earning a 4.0 last year were Katelan Dyson, Becca Gusmer and Kathryn Ritter. The other team members that were announced to the list were Danielle Lebreck, Stephanie Price, Kathryn Salvatore and Kayla Wagner.
In February of 2008, Big Ten Faculty Representatives established a conference academic recognition to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the Distinguished Scholar Award encompasses only student-athletes with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student-athlete’s academic career.
Katelan Dyson, Jr. English Roseville, Minn. Rebecca Gusmer,  So. Kinesiology Green Bay, Wis. Danielle Lebreck,  So. Spanish Studies Cary, Ill. Stephanie Price, So. InterCollege Studies Mankato, Minn. Kathryn Ritter,  So. Biology, Society & Environment Mukwonago, Wis. Kathryn Salvatore,  Jr. Biology, Society & Environment Roseville, Minn. Kayla Wagner,  So. Elementary Education Baldwin, Wis.
Names in BOLD are 4.0 GPA Student-Athletes