Somerset, NJ - Junior Jonathan Besselink was named the 2018 Northeast Conference (NEC) Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year, joining an accomplished group of student-athletes from the other nine NEC-sponsored fall sports, the league office announced on Wednesday.
 
Additionally, the Wagner men's cross country team was named the 2018 Fall Team Sportsmanship Award winner. Instituted by league Presidents in 2008, this award acknowledges the team in each conference sport that, in the opinion of its peers, most closely demonstrates good sportsmanship based on the NEC Principles of Sportsmanship and Standards of Conduct.  Voting is conducted at the conclusion of each season by each team and head coach, who rank teams within the conference based on a set of criteria.
 
All scholar-athlete award winners must have earned a minimum of 60 semester hours at their institution, maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20, and participated with distinction as a member of a varsity team.
 
Since the award commenced in 2004, Besselink becomes the 23rd Wagner student-athlete to claim an NEC individual sport scholar-athlete of the year. In the class room Besselink has earned a 4.0 the past two semesters, en route to a cumulative GPA of 3.882, while studying Business Administration at
 
In 2018, Besselink competed in his third straight NCAA Regional meet this past fall, crossing the finish line with a time of 35:21.0 in the 10K event. The Kingston, Ontario native also finished among the top-five harriers in three meets, which included a fifth-place finish at the 2018 Northeast Conference (NEC) Cross Country Championships, when he posted a time of 26:00.1 in being named to the All-Conference team while helping Wagner finish a program-best third-place finish.
 
Besselink's best finish this season came at the Monmouth University XC Tune-Up, when he finished the 5K race in second place with a time of 15:27.9.

Follow us: #CHAOSonthehill
Wagner Athletics       
Cross Country | Track & Field: