ABILENE, Texas - McMurry University's Carla Lewis was named an academic all-American by the U.S. Track & Field & Cross Country Coaches Association Thursday. The award marks the third time in Lewis' three-year career that she was named to the squad.

The USTFCCCA all-Academic award honors those student-athletes who have succeeded both academically and athletically. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must carry a minimum 3.3 cumulative grade-point average and must finish in the top 35 among the field at their respective NCAA regional meet.

Lewis, the senior from Tuscola majors in exercise science and is slated to graduate in May. She was among 188 athletes honored Thursday.

Lewis was the first female runner in McMurry's school history to earn a trip to nationals after her sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region championships in 2009, which gave her the third all-region selection of her career.

Lewis wraps up her career as a two-time ASC Individual champion and her first-place finish as a freshman in 1996 helped McMurry's women to the first and only team conference championship in the program's 14-year history.

She was also a three-time all-region selection, a three-time academic all-American, and she won numerous ASC Runner of the Week awards including four-straight to begin the 2009 season.

The men's awards will be released Friday and the team awards will be released March 4-5.