NEW ORLEANS – The Saint Leo women's track team along with individual Paige Patterson were recognized for their success in the classroom as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) selected 130 NCAA Division II women's teams for their 2021 All-Academic Team honors while junior Paige Patterson was honored as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete.
 
In order to be considered for All-Academic Team honors the program must have at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA as a team. While individual honorees have to possess a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have completed at least 24 semester hours at the end of the semester of competition at the institution. They also must have achieved an automatic or provisional qualifying mark for either indoor or outdoor season.
 
The Saint Leo women posted a 3.44 GPA and were one of just six programs from the state of Florida to receive the honor including Embry-Riddle, Florida Southern, Lynn, Nova Southeastern and Tampa.
 
Grand Valley State was the NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track & Field National Scholar Team of the Year after posting a 3.46 GPA and winning the Indoor National Championship while Azusa Pacific was the Outdoor Track & Field National Scholar Team of the Year with a 3.596 GPA after winning the Outdoor National Championship. Truman State took home the highest cumulative GPA honor with a 3.75.
 
Patterson, who is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District performer, earns her first track All-Academic Athlete honor to add to her 2019 cross country All-Academic Athlete award. She is the reigning Sunshine State Conference Runner of the Year for cross country and has earned four USTFCCCA All-Region awards including two in cross country and two in track during her career. She is a three-time All-SSC performer including second team honors as a freshman in 2018 and first team awards in 2019 and 2021. She earned Runner of the Year after winning the 2021 SSC Championship which was the lone competition in which the Lions competed. On the track, Patterson just missed out on a trip to the National Championships in the steeplechase as she ran a career-best 10:55.39 at the North Florida Invite.
 
Patterson has a 3.94 GPA while pursuing a degree in biology. She was just one of six athletes from a Florida school to earn the honor including four from Embry-Riddle and one from Tampa.
 
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