NEW ORLEANS, La. --- South Dakota School of Mines sophomore cross country scholar athlete Joel Haas earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honors for the 2019 season announced Thursday from the USTFCCCA headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana, while both the Hardrocker men's and women's cross country teams earned All-Academic Teams honors.

Individual All-Academic honors are awarded to those athletes who have compiled a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and finished among the Top 30 percent of eligible runners at his or her regional championships and/or the top half of the field at the NCAA Championships.

Haas is a Civil Engineering major from Corvallis, Montana, who finished the South Central Region Cross Country Championships 10K race ---held this past Nov. 9 in Canyon, Texas – in 57^th place in a time of 33 minutes 29.02 seconds.

"This is something Joel has been working toward for quite a while now and it's great that he was able to achieve it," said Hardrocker cross country head coach Steve Johnson. "He showed tremendous improvements in cross country over the past year and his continued academic success is a testament to how hard he works."

The SD Mines men's and women's XC teams have earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors for the eighth consecutive year.

The Hardrocker men's squad finished the season with a 3.25 team GPA while the Hardrocker women's team posted a 3.56 GPA. To qualify teams must have compiled a cumulative GPA or 3.00 or greater and scored at an NCAA Div. II regional meet to qualify for the award.

The Hardrocker squads fulfilled both requirements after competing at the NCAA Div. II South Central Regional Cross Country Championships. The men's team placed 16^th place (424 points) while the women's team finished in 23^rd place (612 points).

"This is a great honor for our scholar-athletes and one they've worked hard to earn," Johnson said. "This award is a reflection of the entire team and their commitment to academic success."