SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Seven members of the Syracuse University cross country team were named to the 2009 Division I All-Academic Team. With five honorees, the Orange women have more representatives than any other institution. Two men from the SU squad were also named to the All-Academic Team.

For the women, All-Academic honors were awarded to senior Maegan Krifchin, juniors Katie Hursey, Catherine DeSarle, sophomores Lauren Penney, and Natalie Busby. Hursey finished a standout cross country season in 2009, becoming SU's first-ever individual women's champion at the NCAA Northeast Regional. Fellow junior DeSarle finished the NCAA Northeast Regional with a time of 22:11, taking fourth place overall. Hursey and DeSarle, as well as all three of their Syracuse All-Academic teammates, were named to the Northeast All-Region Team in 2009.

On the men's squad, graduate student Jeff Scull and sophomore Pat Dupont were honored. Scull was a recipient of the NCAA's Elite 88 award at the annual banquet for the Division I Cross Country Championship on Sunday, Nov. 22. The award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the final site of each of the NCAA's 88 national championships. Dupont led his team at the NCAA Northeast Regional, earning fifth overall. He also propelled his team to a first place finish at the BIG EAST Championship, where he earned fourth overall.