Karissa Schweizer of Missouri and Grant Fisher of Stanford Are Named 2016 Cross Country Scholar Athletes of the Year by USTFCCCA

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Editor

The USTFCCCA announced its NCAA Division 1 individual academic awards Thursday. In addition to listing out the academic All-Americans, Missouri's Karissa Schweizer and Stanford's Grant Fisher are overall winners.

Schweizer, a junior, holds a 3.33 GPA in Health Sciences at Missouri. She won four races in the 2016 cross country season, including the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, IN. This is the seventh time in the past eight years that the Scholar Athlete of the Year award has gone to the NCAA Champion.

Schweizer is the first athlete from the Southeastern Conference to win the award.

Fisher, in his second season of cross country, holds a 3.43 GPA. He placed in the top five in three races in the 2016 cross country season, including his fifth-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. He was the highest finishing sophomore in the race.

Fisher is the fifth Stanford male to receive the award. Last year, teammate Sean McGorty won it. Also, Chris Derrick won the award in 2010 and 2011.