The Cal U women's cross country/track & field program has now featured at least one Academic All-American six times in the past seven seasons.
Julie Friend (left) and Summer Hill.
California University of Pennsylvania seniors Julie Friend and Summer Hill both repeated as Google Cloud Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Hill received CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-America laurels for a consecutive season and became only the third student-athlete in school history to be selected an Academic All-American three times in a career. Friend also earned CoSIDA Third-Team Academic All-America status for a second-straight year.
A native of Honesdale, Pa., Hill earned All-PSAC honors a combined five times in track & field this season. She helped the distance medley relay capture a fifth-straight league title during the indoor season, while also finishing second overall in the in the 1-mile run at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. In the spring, Hill posted the second-fastest time in the Atlantic Region in the 1,5000-meter run and placed among the top three at the league championships in the 800-meter run, 1,500-meter run and the 4x800-meter relay.
Hill was forced to miss the majority of the fall due to an injury before competing in three cross country championship races. She received All-PSAC First-Team status by placing 14th overall at the league championships in her season debut. Hill then finished in third place at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships to help the program earn a team qualifier for the NCAA National Championships for the second time in three years.
A 5-foot-5 senior, Hill holds a 3.91 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) while finishing her master's degree in exercise science and health promotion with a concentration in performance enhancement and injury prevention. She earned her bachelor's degree in sport management in 2017 with a 3.89 cumulative GPA. Hill joins former swimmer Kelsey Nuhfer and men's cross country/track & field runner Aaron Dinzeo as the only three-time Academic All-Americans in school history.
Friend recorded an incredible senior season, as she achieved NCAA All-America status in the fall, winter and spring sports seasons, plus was named PSAC Athlete of the Year in two different sports. In the fall, she became the first women's cross country runner in program history to earn All-America honors after finishing 22nd overall at the NCAA National Championships. Friend also was the school's first individual league champion since 1980 before claiming the first-ever individual regional title.
A product of Uniontown, Friend received NCAA First-Team All-America laurels in the 3,000-meter run during the indoor season with a school-record time at the NCAA Championships. She also claimed the league title in the event and was the anchor leg on the winning distance medley relay. In the spring, Friend earned NCAA First-Team All-America honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase while setting the all-time PSAC record in the finals of the NCAA Championships. She captured the conference title in both the steeplechase and 5,000-meter run while boasting the region's top time in four different events.
Friend maintains a 3.90 cumulative GPA while finishing her master's degree in exercise science and health promotion with a concentration in rehabilitation science. She completed her bachelor's degree in 2017 with a 3.42 cumulative GPA while majoring in biology with a concentration in pre-medicine and a minor in chemistry.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative 3.30 GPA or higher and must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution.