PHILADELPHIA - Haverford College cross country runner junior Henry Woods was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men's Cross Country team, the Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors Association (Philly-SIDA) announced on Wednesday morning. The team is nominated and voted on by the sports information offices of 30 area institutions from the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
In order to be eligible for academic all-area consideration, a student-athlete must be in at least his second year at the institution and own a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher.
The philosophy major adds the plaudit to an outstanding cross country season that included an All-American certificate after a 22nd place overall finish at the NCAA National Championships in Louisville, Ky. The award was the first All-American honor for the New York City product. Woods finished in 24:45.3, shaving nearly a minute off his 120th place finish at the National Championship in Winneconne, Wis. in 2016.
Woods became he 34th cross country All-American in program history. Most recently, the mark was reached by Charlie Marquardt '16 at the 2015 national championships.
Woods was the top finisher for Haverford in every race he ran this season as the Fords qualified for NCAA Championships for the 24th straight season. Prior to Nationals, Woods Finished third overall at NCAA Mideast Regional, taking All-Region honors and pacing the Fords to an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championships.
Woods was also an All-Centennial Conference First-team after finishing second overall at the Conference Championships at the Alumni Cross Country Course on the Haverford campus. Woods was also named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for the second straight season following the race.