Men's Cross Country | 6/21/2017 12:10:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY - Senior Chris Schwab (Holliston, MA/Xaverian Brothers) of the RIT men's track and field team was named to the 2017 Academic All-America® Division III Track & Field/Cross Country Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Wednesday, June 21. Schwab was a first team selection, after earning third team honors in 2016. He is RIT track and field's fourth two-time Academic All-America selection.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America program recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Schwab and teammate Michael Kist (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) were previously honored as Academic All-District selections on May 21. All Academic All-District selections were eligible for Academic All-America honors.
 
Schwab, who recently earned a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering, enjoyed a tremendous 4.0 grade-point average as an undergraduate and in his master's classes. Schwab was an RIT Presidential Scholar, four-year member of the RIT Honors program, and 2015 RIT Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar. In addition, he was an eight-time Dean's List recipient and eight-time Liberty League All-Academic team selection (four track and field, four cross country).
 
On the track, Schwab recorded career-best times of 4:12.21 in the 1,500-meters, 4:41.10 in the mile, 9:33.15 in the 3,000-meter run, and 15:39 in the 5,000-meter run. Schwab broke 27 minutes in cross country at the Rowan University Border Battle in 2016.
 
Schwab joins Stephen Burns (2007, 2008), Andrew Varble (2007, 2008), and Jordan Sellers (Denver, PA/Garden Spot) (2015, 2016) as two-time All-America selections for the men's track and field program. He is also RIT's fourth first-team Academic All-America pick.

All-Time RIT Men's Track and Field CoSIDA Academic All-America Selections
2006 – Michael Herb, 1st Team
2007 – Stephen Burns, 3rd Team
2007 – Kevin Smith, 3rd Team
2007 – Andrew Varble, 3rd Team
2008 – Stephen Burns, 2nd Team
2008 – Andrew Varble, 3rd Team
2011 – Mike Dempsey, 1st Team
2015 – Jordan Sellers (Denver, PA/Garden Spot), 3rd Team
2016 – Jordan Sellers (Denver, PA/Garden Spot), 1st Team
2016 – Chris Schwab (Holliston, MA/Xaverian Brothers), 3rd Team
2017 – Chris Schwab (Holliston, MA/Xaverian Brothers), 1st Team