The College Sports Information Directors of America has sponsored the Academic All-America program since 1952. CoSIDA announced the team Monday.
     "Matt and Javon are outstanding representatives of Xavier, the athletics department and our cross country program," XU coach Joseph Moses said. "They take care of their business in the classroom, in workouts and in competition. They're always focused on improvement and doing the right thing."    

     Pieri, a junior from New Orleans and a graduate of Brother Martin High School, is a pharmacy major at Xavier with a 3.79 grade-point average. Pieri is a three-time All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference runner and was the league's 2010 individual champion. He was a 2011 Daktronics Scholar-Athlete and was inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society. Pieri has won a GCAC career-record 10 Runner of the Week awards, four this past season. He has 13 top-10 finishes and nine top-5s in three seasons.
     At the Gulf Coast Stampede in Pensacola, Fla., on Oct. 1, Pieri ran 8,000 meters (4.97 miles) in 26 minutes, 51.1 seconds. That was Xavier's best time at that distance since Farris Gransberry set the school record of 25:54 in 1998.
     Mead, a sophomore from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of Baton Rouge Magnet High School, is an accounting major with a 3.66 GPA. Mead is a two-time All-GCAC cross country runner who finished third in the conference meet in 2010 and fifth in 2011. He has four top-10 finishes and two top-5s in two years.
     Academic All-Americans are starters or important reserves with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale. They also must have completed at least one full calendar year at their current institution and reached sophomore athletic eligibility. Pieri and Mead were announced May 31 as Academic All-District 4, which automatically advanced them for national consideration.
     Xavier is a six-time defending GCAC team champion in men's and women's cross country. Both squads qualified for the NAIA National Championships three of the past four seasons, including 2011. The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will begin the 2012 season Aug. 31 in the Mississippi College Opener at Clinton, Miss.