STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford continued to prove itself as the most consistent elite cross country program in the country, earning top-five team men's and women's finishes for the third consecutive year.
Overall, the Stanford women have placed among the NCAA top-five 20 times and the men have done so 19 teams.
After Grant Fisher won his second consecutive Pac-12 individual title and led the Cardinal men to back-to-back conference titles, he went on to place second at the NCAA Championships. That matched Stanford's highest individual finish at nationals.
Illustrating the union of athletics and academics, Fisher and Elise Cranny were named Pac-12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year in cross country.
"To put two teams in the top 5 each year is the kind of consistency that speaks to what we've built as a program," said Chris Miltenberg, Stanford's Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field. "You look at the ups and downs so many teams have had and here we are, we're steady at the wheel. We've built the most consistent program in the nation."
The Cardinal will move on without Fisher and Cranny, who have combined for 21 All-America honors. But the emergence of those such as Alek Parsons and Jessica Lawson, as well as a series of strong recruiting classes, seems to point to continued success.
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Achievements and honors:
Team
Third consecutive top-5 men's and women's NCAA finishes.
25th consecutive year qualifying men's and women's teams to NCAA's.
13th time both teams have placed among the top five in the same year.
Men
Back to back Pac-12 champion.
NCAA fifth-place finish.
Fourth at NCAA West Regionals.
27th NCAA team appearance all-time.
25th consecutive NCAA team appearance.
24th consecutive Pac-12 top-three finish.
19th NCAA top-five team finish.
Ninth conference individual title.
Sixth consecutive year with an NCAA top-six individual placer.
Sixth consecutive year with an All-American.
Sixth consecutive year with a top-three Pac-12 finisher.
Fifth consecutive NCAA top-five team finish.
62 consecutive victories over Cal in championship meets when both have full teams.
31 consecutive victories over Cal at conference championships.
Three All-Americans.
Chris Miltenberg
Pac-12 Coach of the Year for second consecutive year.
Coached Stanford to second consecutive Pac-12 championship
Callum Bolger
All-Pac-12 second team
Pac-12 All-Academic first team
Tai Dinger
All-West Region
Pac-12 All-Academic first team
Steven Fahy
Pac-12 All-Academic second team
Grant Fisher
All-American
Second at NCAA Championships, tying highest-ever Stanford finish
Fourth XC All-America honor, one of four in Stanford history
Third top-5 finish, one of two in Stanford history
Four All-America honors and top-5 team finishes, one of two to accomplish that in Stanford history
All-West Region
Pac-12 champion for second consecutive year
Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Pac-12 Athlete of the Year
All-Pac-12 first team
Pac-12 All-Academic second team
USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week (Oct. 15)
Won Pre-Nationals Cardinal Race
Blair Hurlock
Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
Alex Ostberg
All-American
13th at NCAA Championships
All-West Region
Third in Pac-12
All-Pac-12 first team
Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
Alek Parsons
All-American
30th at NCAA Championships
All-West Region
Fourth in Pac-12
All-Pac-12 first team
Pac-12 All-Academic second team
DJ Principe
Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
Michael Vernau
Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
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Women
Fifth at NCAA Championships.
Third at Pac-12 Championships.
Third at NCAA West Regionals.
Third consecutive year with an NCAA top-5 team finish.
31st NCAA team appearance all-time.
26th consecutive NCAA team appearance, the longest streak in the country.
26th consecutive top-16 NCAA team finishes.
20th NCAA top-five team finish.
Eighth consecutive year with an All-American.
52 consecutive victories over Cal in championship meets when both have full teams.
28 consecutive victories over Cal at conference championships.
Two All-Americans.
Christina Aragon
Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
USF Invitational winner
Elise Cranny
All-American
11th at NCAA Championships
Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
All-West Region
Third in Pac-12
All-Pac-12 first team
Pac-12 All-Academic second team
Stanford Invitational winner
Julia Heymach
Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
Jessica Lawson
All-West Region
Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
Hannah Long
Pac-12 All-Academic first team
Jordan Oakes
Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
Fiona O'Keeffe
All-American
17th at NCAA Championships
All-West Region
Fifth in Pac-12
All-Pac-12 first team
Pac-12 All-Academic second team