Seven Cross Country Runners Earn All-Academic From USTFCCCA

February 5, 2025 - - The Lorain County Community College men's and women's cross country teams have been recognized for their outstanding academic achievements by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The men's team has been named a 2024 USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Academic Team, awarded to teams with a minimum 3.2 GPA. LCCC's men's team posted an impressive 3.61 team GPA during the fall 2024 semester. 

In addition to the team recognition, seven LCCC runners earned individual USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete honors, which require a minimum 3.4 GPA for the fall semester.

These honorees include: 

Men's Team: 

Women's Team: 

For Palmer, it caps an exceptional LCCC career that concluded with a stellar performance at the NJCAA National Championships, finishing in 4th place overall with a time of 20:04. This secured her First Team All-American honors for the second consecutive year. Palmer's fourth-place finish ties the record set by Hannah Cook in 2012 for the highest placement ever by an LCCC runner at a national championship meet. 

Michael Couture (Elyria, Ohio/Open Door Christian HS) led the LCCC men's team with an outstanding 17th-place finish out of 134 runners in the 8K race, clocking in at 27:51, earning him NJCAA Cross Country Coaches Association All-American honors for the 2024 season. 

Before nationals, Palmer also secured the top spot among Division III runners at the NJCAA Region 12 Meet, while Couture earned a place on the men's All-Region Team with a second-place finish among DIII runners, posting a time of 27:17.0. He placed 22nd overall in a competitive championship field.