Three UW-Platteville cross country runners were named academic All-Americans, which means during the last season they all carried at least a 3.5 grade point average and finished in the top 25 of their regional races. The Pioneers who were bestowed with this honor were Tony Kilburg, Allison Tank and Jessica Scott.

“For me, the biggest thing about this title is knowing the caliber of people that this title puts me with,’ said Kilburg, a junior and engineering physics major.

Kilburg’s initial reaction was shock to receiving the honor. The hardest thing for him was the amount of time and effort he had to put forth in school and cross country and figuring out how to balance them out because if he slacked off in one area, both areas would suffer.

Although thankful that he hasn’t had to face a lot of obstacles, he did have to work hard to rehab back from a stress fracture his sophomore year.

“If that is the only challenge for myself, I consider myself lucky,’ Kilburg said.

For Tank, she was not only excited about the award but also very pleased to see that all of her hard work had paid off. Coach Tom Antzcak was incredibly supportive of her talent throughout the season and noticed when she was stressed because it showed in her running.

“He was good at reminding me to relax and just enjoy everything,’ Tank, a freshman elementary education major, said.

Tank struggled as all athletes do making the adjustment from high school competitions to college, but she thought the transition went well. She plans on training a lot during the summer hopefully, and working hard to become a better runner not only in cross country but also in track.

Jessica Scott, a junior biology major, said getting good grades and doing well in cross country goes “hand in hand,’ so to her it was no surprise that she received the award. But after receiving it more than once now she still thinks it’s a nice honor to receive.

There’s a lot of sacrifice involved, like giving up free time and outings with friends as well as having the will power to go out and run instead of to the movies and just relaxing.

But Scott needed the past semester so she could reach her biggest goal.

“I just kept thinking about grad school,’ which she hopes to attend at UW-Madison. “I have no regrets.’

The honor is nothing new for the Pioneers, who last season were named the 2007 academic team of the year for the men’s track team. The ability to balance academics and athletics is hard for any student-athlete and this honor speaks highly of these students and the entire Pioneer athletic program.