COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— Hot off the heels of their first NCAA Division II Championship appearance in a decade, the Colorado Mesa University women's cross country team made more history on Thursday as Autumn McQuitty and Brooke Miller both earned First Team Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic honors, which were announced on Thursday afternoon.

This marks the first time in program history that the Maverick women have had multiple selections to the first team, selected by a vote of the conference's athletic communications directors, based on a combination of athletic and academic accomplishments.  They are just the sixth and seventh Maverick women to ever earn the honor.

Additionally, The Mavericks also had 11 total selections to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll, the second highest total in the 15-member conference (UCCS, 16).

Joining McQuitty and Miller on the honor roll were, Jayna Boonstra, Quin Gregg, Megan Hodges, Wehazit Kelati, Kate Linstedt,  Ruthie Richardson,  Jordan Staniszewski, Kendall White and Kirstin Williams.

White earned first team honors in 2022 and was on the honor roll last year while Linstedt was a first team honoree in 2023.

To qualify for the honor roll, student-athletes must have a 3.30 or higher cumulative grade-point average, have competed two consecutive semesters at their current institution, and have used a season of competition.

To be nominated for the First Team Academic All-RMAC squad, athletes must have a 3.50 or higher GPA and meet the other requirements.  The league's athletic communications directors for that sport then vote to compose the First Team Academic All-RMAC and select the Academic Player of the Year. They are not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.

McQuitty, a sophomore mass communications major from Alamosa, Colorado holds a perfect 4.0 GPA and was a member of the Mavs' top seven runners in all six meets of the season.  She placed 53^rd overall and fourth on the team at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships to help the Mavericks qualify for the national championships, where she finished 186^th.  She was also 54^th at the RMAC Championships with a career-best 6K time of 22:19.9 and had a career-best tenth place finish at the Mountaineer/Cowboy Invite to open the season.

Miller, a redshirt junior and nursing major, hails from Homer, Alaska and has a 3.95 GPA.  She led the Mavericks in two meets during her first full season of cross country after only dabbling in it before. 

The CMU indoor and outdoor track & field school record holder in the 800 meters, placed a cross country career-best 18^th with a career-best time of 22:28.0 at the Roadrunners Invitational and then led the Mavs with a strong 28^th place finish in a field of 340 runners at the Lewis Crossover Invitational.  She also helped the team qualify for the NCAA Championships for just the second time in program history and was the team's third finisher at the national meet, placing 153^rd overall after taking 88^th at the South Central Regional Championships.

Miller has now earned five total RMAC All-Academic honors in her overall running career at CMU and was named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team for track & field in 2024 while also earning College Sports Communicators Academic All-District accolades.

The Maverick men had two first team and ten total academic honorees, which were also announced on Thursday afternoon.

CMU's All-Time RMAC All-Academic First Team Selections
2009    Kelsey Follett
2014    Lauren Lipski
2017    Melissa Anderson
2022    Kendall White
2023    Kate Linstedt
2024    Autumn McQuitty
2024    Brooke Miller