ELMHURST, Ill. – Western Illinois student-athletes not only turned in the best cumulative semester GPA in athletics department history (3.15 in Fall 2009), the Leathernecks also paced the Summit League with the most selections to the Academic All-Summit League squad.

WIU led the way with 63 selections to the Academic All-Summit League squad, covering the fall sports of: men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer and volleyball.

The Leathernecks edged Oakland (62) and IUPUI (61) for the league's top spot. Centenary had 52 student-athletes on the list, followed by North Dakota State (50), IPFW (48), Oral Roberts (48), South Dakota State (47), UMKC (41) and Southern Utah (39). Of the 511 student-athletes honored, 70 posted a perfect 4.0 GPA.

In order to be selected to the Academic All-Summit League Team, a student-athlete must have a 3.0 or better grade-point average in the semester in which they compete and must use a year of eligibility.

The women's cross country team was one of 12 Western Illinois sports programs (out of 18) to post a cumulative 3.0 GPA in Fall 2009, leading the way with a 3.50. The other fall programs include: volleyball (3.44), women's soccer (3.37) and men's cross country (3.26).