SAN FRANCISCO -- Stanford's Ella Donaghu and Alek Parsons were named the 2020-21 Pac-12 Women's and Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athletes of the Year, the conference office announced ahead of the Pac-12 Championships. The awards, which are presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, were established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.
Donaghu (Portland, Ore.) carries a 3.68 grade-point average as a human biology major and earned CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-America honors in track and field and cross country in 2019-20.
She helped Stanford to the 2019 Pac-12 Cross Country championship with a runner-up finish, then went on to win the NCAA West Regional for her third All-West Regional selection (2016, 2017, 2019) before earning All-America status with an eighth-place showing at the NCAA Championships in which the Cardinal placed third.
Prior to the Pac-12 Championships, Stanford raced twice and Donaghu won both, at the Florida State Winter Classic and UNLV Battle Born Challenge, and was recognized as the USTFCCCA National XC Athlete of the Week after each.
Donaghu is the fourth Cardinal to win the women's honor, following Elise Cranny (2018), Aisling Cuffe (2015), and Arianna Lambie (2007).
Parsons (Ogden, Utah) boasts a 3.80 GPA in environmental systems engineering and is a two-time NCAA All-American and a three-time All-West Region selection in cross country.
He helped Stanford to a conference title in 2017 by placing 21st, then improved to fourth overall as the Cardinal repeated as champion in 2018. He finished in the top 40 of the NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors in 2018 (30th) and 2019 (34th).
Parsons is the seventh Cardinal to earn the men's honor and third in a row. He follows Steven Fahy (2019), Grant Fisher (2018), Tyler Stutzman (2013), Chris Derrick (2011), Elliott Heath (2010), and Neftalem Araia (2007).
In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport's regular season. The athletics accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in voting for the award.
A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12's 24 sponsored sports: baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, beach volleyball, men's cross country, women's cross country, football, men's golf, women's golf, women's gymnastics, women's lacrosse, men's rowing, women's rowing, men's soccer, women's soccer, softball, men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's track and field, women's track and field, women's volleyball, and wrestling. The award was first established during the 2007-08 academic year.
