CROSS COUNTRY: The schedule for the 2010 Westminster cross country teams was released Wednesday by head coach Craig Binkley. Westminster will compete in five events during the season in Montana, Idaho and California in hopes of qualifying for the 2010 NAIA National Championships for the first time in school history.
The season begins on Sept. 18 in Bozeman, Mont., at the Montana State Invitational. The men will run a 5-mile course with the women competing on a 3-mile course. Both races will take place at the Bridger Golf Course.
Westminster heads to Boise, Idaho for the Bob Firman Invitational on Sept. 25. Eagle Island State Park is the host of this 8K men's race and 5K women's race. A trip to California for the Vanguard Invitational on Oct. 9 is up next for the Griffins. The 8K men's race and 5K women's race take place at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa, California.
The regular season concludes on Oct. 23 at the Warrior Invitational in Lewiston, Idaho, hosted by Lewis-Clark State College. Hells Gate State Park is home to the 8K men's race and 5K women's race.
The 2010 Frontier Conference Championships will take place in Great Falls, Mont., on Nov. 6. The University of Great Falls and Eagle Falls Golf Club will play host to this 8K men's race and 5K women's race.
The top placing team in each division will earn an automatic invitation to the NAIA National Championships.
The 2010 NAIA National Championships return to Vancouver, Wash., for a second consecutive season. The 8K men's championship and 5K women's championship will be run at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site on November 20.
SCHOLAR AWARDS: The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the scholar team awards for the 2009-10 season on Tuesday, and all nine of Westminster's NAIA teams made the list. The nine teams making the list are the most in school history. The nine teams on the list represent the nine teams that compete in the NAIA at Westminster.
Men's basketball led all Westminster teams with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.55 and carried the highest GPA of any men's basketball team in the NAIA. The Griffins hoopsters were early recognized with six Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athletes, which was also the tops of nay NAIA men's basketball program.
The Westminster women's golf team compiled a GPA of 3.52 to rank second among Westminster teams. The men's golf team had a 3.42 GPA while women's cross country had a 3.41 GPA. Women's volleyball recorded a 3.38 GPA for the 2009-10 academic school year ,with men's cross country posting a 3.33 GPA. The Westminster women's soccer team finished with a 3.32 GPA, while women's basketball and men's soccer posted 3.23 and 3.13 GPAs, respectively.