SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Appalachian State University women's track and field had 27 athletes honored and football added 23 as Mountaineers from each of the school's 20 varsity teams accounted for 172 of the 1,617 Southern Conference student-athletes named to the 2007-08 SoCon academic honor roll on Monday. The total is the third-most in the league, which had the highest number of honorees in the honor roll's 18 years of existence.

The academic honor roll consists of student-athletes who participated in varsity sports at member institutions and posted a 3.0 grade point average or higher while passing at least 24 hours in two semesters of classes or its equivalent for other academic calendars. Southern Conference athletic directors established the honor roll prior to the 1988-89 athletic year as a way to recognize the league's outstanding student-athletes. After 364 earned the honor the first year, the honor roll has increased in 13 of the 17 subsequent years.

Women's cross country and track and field teams led the Apps with 27 members earning the conference honor, while the men's counterpart added 13 athletes. Baseball contributed 14 members, followed by women's soccer and field hockey with 13 each. Wrestling was represented by 11 athletes while softball and volleyball each added 10. Women's tennis and men's soccer each had eight honorees and men's tennis and women's golf each accounted for six. Women's basketball contributed four and men's basketball and men's golf each added three members.

Appalachian boasts 13 of the conference's 62 student-athletes with a 4.0, including two members each from the field hockey (Jessica Harris and Jessica Thompson), men's track and field (Colin Davis and Mark Maddox) and women's track and field (Meghan Gaffney and Kristina Reese) programs. Stephanie Aaron (women's soccer), J.R. Archer (men's basketball), Mary Kate Bowman (women's golf), John Doverspike (men's tennis), Yancy Moose (softball), Dianna Thomas (volleyball) and David Towarnicky (baseball) round out the ASU student-athletes with perfect grade point averages over the 2007-08 academic year.

Davidson landed the most on the honor roll with 223, the most of any school since 1998-99 when Davidson posted a record 233 on the list. Seven of the 11 schools increased their numbers from the previous year, including all-time highs from College of Charleston, Georgia Southern, Western Carolina and Wofford. College of Charleston had the second-most student-athletes honored with 188 and Elon placed fourth with 155. Football boasted the most overall student-athletes on the list with 225, followed by women's cross country and track and field with 174 and women's soccer with 172.

All student-athletes are included on the list, which includes all 19 SoCon sponsored sports as well as non-sponsored sports in field hockey, lacrosse, swimming, equestrian, rifle and sailing. League schools who sponsor swimming are members of the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association, established in 2007. A complete list of honorees can be found on SoConSports.com.