Jon Bishop garners SEC Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Oct 24, 2018 | Cross Country, Track and Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Jon Bishop of Texas A&M University and Taylor Werner of the University of Arkansas have been named the SEC Cross Country Scholar-Athletes of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches.
"That's a big accomplishment for Jon," said Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. "The guy doesn't know how to make a B. It's a tremendous honor for someone who is a dedicated academic person. He's also doing a better job of dedicating himself to track and field as well. I think he's got a good future in front of him."
Bishop, a junior from College Station, Texas, has a 4.0 grade point average in applied mathematics. He has previously been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and was recently honored at Texas A&M with the Classroom Excellence Award for outstanding work in advanced calculus.
"He is such a deserving young man," noted Chris Barttelbort, Texas A&M Assistant Athletics Director Academic Services. "Jon isn't just focused on his classroom requirements. He seeks opportunities outside of those on campus that will go a long way toward helping him reach his professional goals. He sees a bigger picture in academics, which in turn helps him execute the bigger picture in his race plans as well."
In his last race, Bishop led the team to a fifth-place finish in the Loyola Lakefront Invitational held in Chicago among a field of 30-plus teams, placing as the first Aggie in finishing 18th among 349 runners. In a pair of Texas A&M team victories during earlier home meets this season, Bishop finished as the second Aggie runner among a close pack. Last year, Bishop qualified for the NCAA Championship field in cross country.
"The neat thing about Jon is he really exemplifies what we envision with the term student-athlete," stated Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "He takes both things very seriously. Being a student is very important to him and he has some big goals on the academic side of things career-wise. He also has accomplished some things athletically, but he has even bigger goals he wants to achieve before he is done here.
"If we had a team full of Jon Bishop's our lives would be really, really easy as coaches. He's a person who works hard on both ends, academically and athletically, with both being equally important to him. It's exactly what you want."
Werner, a junior from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., holds a 4.0 grade point average in kinesiology: exercise science. She is a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and was one of six Razorbacks to reach cross country All-American status as a freshman. Werner has a pair of top-10 finishes this season, placing fourth in the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival and sixth in the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals.
"That's a big accomplishment for Jon," said Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. "The guy doesn't know how to make a B. It's a tremendous honor for someone who is a dedicated academic person. He's also doing a better job of dedicating himself to track and field as well. I think he's got a good future in front of him."
Bishop, a junior from College Station, Texas, has a 4.0 grade point average in applied mathematics. He has previously been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and was recently honored at Texas A&M with the Classroom Excellence Award for outstanding work in advanced calculus.
"He is such a deserving young man," noted Chris Barttelbort, Texas A&M Assistant Athletics Director Academic Services. "Jon isn't just focused on his classroom requirements. He seeks opportunities outside of those on campus that will go a long way toward helping him reach his professional goals. He sees a bigger picture in academics, which in turn helps him execute the bigger picture in his race plans as well."
In his last race, Bishop led the team to a fifth-place finish in the Loyola Lakefront Invitational held in Chicago among a field of 30-plus teams, placing as the first Aggie in finishing 18th among 349 runners. In a pair of Texas A&M team victories during earlier home meets this season, Bishop finished as the second Aggie runner among a close pack. Last year, Bishop qualified for the NCAA Championship field in cross country.
"The neat thing about Jon is he really exemplifies what we envision with the term student-athlete," stated Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "He takes both things very seriously. Being a student is very important to him and he has some big goals on the academic side of things career-wise. He also has accomplished some things athletically, but he has even bigger goals he wants to achieve before he is done here.
"If we had a team full of Jon Bishop's our lives would be really, really easy as coaches. He's a person who works hard on both ends, academically and athletically, with both being equally important to him. It's exactly what you want."
Werner, a junior from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., holds a 4.0 grade point average in kinesiology: exercise science. She is a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and was one of six Razorbacks to reach cross country All-American status as a freshman. Werner has a pair of top-10 finishes this season, placing fourth in the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival and sixth in the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals.