CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Western Michigan cross country team placed six on the Academic All-Mid-American Conference team, announced Tuesday by the conference office.

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To qualify for the Academic All-MAC team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests scheduled or completed in the particular sport.  First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.  Outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments for the current season only are considered.

Sarah Anderson – Junior – 3.55 – Exercise Science
The team captain was named All-MAC second team when she finished 14^th overall at the MAC Championships. Anderson finished in the Bronco top-three in all five races she competed in this season. She also cracked the top-10 overall at the George Dales Invite with a 6K time of 22:06 against the 2017 MAC Champions Eastern Michigan. Anderson also recorded a personal record 5K time of 17:38.9 to finish 13^th at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.
 
Hanne Christensen – Senior – 3.66 – English: Creative Writing
Christensen capped off her Bronco career with an incredible season, making her mark all over the WMU record books. The senior was crowned the 2017 Mid-American Conference Champion, becoming the first member of WMU to garner the title since 1993. Christensen also became the third Bronco to earn a trip to the National Championships since 1986 with a sixth place finish at the Great Lakes Region. The All-Region runner wrapped up her career with the Brown & Gold finishing 84^th at the championships with a personal best time 6K time of 20:36.0. During the season, Christensen was tabbed MAC Runner of the Week and MAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week.
 
Claire Gilbert – Senior – 3.49 – Geography
The senior finished in the top-five Bronco finishers all season long. The team captain finished in second for WMU at the George Dales Invite taking fourth overall. Gilbert gathered 26^th overall at Pre-Nationals before crossing the finish line with a 6K personal record time of 21:33.7 at the MAC Championships, good for 17^th. Concluding her final contest with the Broncos, Gilbert took 66^th at the Great Lakes Regional.
 
Brittney Hall – Sophomore – 4.0 – Pre-Occupational Therapy
The sophomore finished in the top-five Bronco finishers in all seven races she competed in. Hall took 89^th at the MAC Championships with a time of 23:38.6 before finishing 191^st at the Great Lakes Regional. The award is her first of her early career for the Brown & Gold.
 
Autumn Lewis – Sophomore – 3.83 – Criminal Justice
Lewis competed in seven races this fall for the Broncos highlighted by her performance at the EMU Fall Classic. The sophomore led WMU finishing 44^th overall with a 20:26.2 time. She also competed in the MAC Championships (94^th) and the Great Lakes Regional (197^th). This is also Lewis' first award of her early career for WMU.
 
Haley Ritsema – Sophomore – 4.0 – Pre-Dietetics
Ritsema started the season strong leading the Broncos in the first race at the Crusader Open, finishing with a 5K personal record 19:13.4 time. She also finished in the Bronco top-five at the EMU Fall Classic (52^nd/20:44.6). Other races Ritsema competed in include the George Dales Invite, Spartan Invitational and the Notre Dame Invite. Like her classmates, this is the first time for Ritsema to garner this award.