WALTHAM, Mass. – Seven members of the Bentley University men's and women's cross country team have earned Division II All-Academic honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their performance during the 2013 season.

Included were five members of the women's team, including senior captain Ashley Nichols (Kenmore, Wash./Inglemoor HS) and All-Americas Tara Dooley (Lee/Lee HS) and Amy Varsell (Burlington, Conn./Lewis S. Mills HS). Also recognized were senior Leah Schiller (Tipp City, Ohio/ Tippecanoe HS) and sophomore Sarah Brennan (Quincy/Notre Dame Acad.).

From the men's team, sophomore Sean Nee (West Yarmouth/Dennis-Yarmouth Reg. HS) and freshman Nik Haas (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey HS) were honored.

Honorees must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better and must have finished among the top 30 percent of total eligible runners at the NCAA regional or in the top half at the NCAA Championships.

This is the sixth All-Academic Award for Varsell (three cross country, three track) and the fourth straight in cross country for Nichols. Dooley was recognized for the third straight year and Schiller for the second time.

Dooley, the Northeast-10 and USTFCCCA Division II East Region Runner of the Year, finished fourth in the NCAA Division II Championships after capturing the NCAA Division II East Regional.

Varsell earned All-America honors with a 39th-place showing at the nationals and was the runner-up in both the regional and Northeast-10 Championship.

Nichols joined Dooley and Varsell on the All-NE-10 and East Regional teams by placing sixth and eighth in those events.  Brennan and Schiller were 45th and 78th in the regional, respectively.

On the men's side, Haas was 59th in the regional and Haas was 65th.