WALESKA, Ga. - Officials of the Appalachian Athletic Conference released their end-of-season awards for men's and women's cross country. Among the awards given out were the academic all-conference and the Champions of Character Team honors.  

For a student-athlete to qualify Academic All-AAC honors, they must be a sophomore, junior, senior, fifth-year, or a graduate student and must have a grade point average of 3.25 or above on a 4.0 scale. The academic honorees from the University of Pikeville cross-country teams are Michelle Kemboi, Jasmine Meade, Abigail Meyer, Faith Newsom, and Laikin Tackett.  

The AAC also recognizes members of the Champions of Character Team. Those nominated to the Champions of Character Team are chosen by their coaches for showing excellent leadership on campus and in their community while demonstrating the five core values the NAIA embraces which are respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership, and sportsmanship. Representing the UPike cross-country are Morgan Tuttle for the women's team and Joshua Martinez for the men's team.  

The cross-country Bears will be back in action Friday in Knoxville, Tenn., for the 2025 AAC Cross-Country Championships.  

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