Junior Nathan Rosenbaum wins prestigious Elite 89 Award for Men's Cross Country

By Tim Glon

HANOVER, Ind. -- Ohio Northern junior Nathan Rosenbaum was named the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Elite 89 Award winner Friday night at Collier Arena.

Rosenbaum won the award as the male student/athlete with the highest GPA among competitors at the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships, which will be held Saturday at the L.S. Ayres Complex on the campus of Hanover (Ind.) College.

Rosenbaum, a Mechanical Engineering major from Orrville, is a three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree and earned a bid to the NCAA Championships with an eighth place finish at the NCAA III Great Lakes Regional last Saturday at Grand Rapids, Mich.

He now becomes the third Ohio Northern student/athlete to earn the prestigious award, joining Matt Fleming (Men's Soccer, 2012) and Cody Lovejoy (Wrestling, 2013).

The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 89 championships.

All GPAs are based on a straight grading scale to ensure consistency among institutions. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.

Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sports for at least two years with their schools. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and competing at the championship.