McNeil, Perez Named to CCAC All-Academic Team

UNIVERSITY PARK, IL—Chicago Heights natives Matthew McNeil and Daniel Perez of Governors State have been named to the Men's Cross Country All-Academic Team by the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC).

The CCAC All-Academic Team recognizes student-athletes with cumulative grade-point averages above 3.25 (entering the Fall 2019 term) who have been enrolled for one academic year and have completed at least 30 semester hours.

This past fall McNeil became the program's first four-year squad member, finishing his career with a school-record 23 race appearances. He saw action in six meets in 2019. A CCAC All-Academic Team selection in 2018, McNeil owns a 3.37 GPA as a finance major.

Perez set school records for races in a season (8) and consecutive starts (14). The junior turned in his fastest 8K time of the season (33:29.5) at the CCAC Championships. An information technology major, Perez sports a 3.30 GPA.

"Matt has always been dedicated to his studies and cross country. He is a very smart runner. I know few people who love and research the sport as much as he has," said GSU Head Coach Kevin Kredens. "Daniel really defines what it means to be a student-athlete. He worked to pay all of his education and was a strong runner to earn a scholarship. He also loves to run and is a student of the sport and classroom."