Thursday, July 6, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – He repeated as the GNAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year last month and now Alaska Anchorage sophomore Coleman Nash has picked up one of the most prestigious academic honors in college sports.

The cross country and track and field All-American was named last week to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division II Men’s Academic All-America Track and Field/Cross Country Team. He is UAA’s first male cross country and track and field athlete to be named to the Academic All-America Team and the first cross country or track and field athlete for the school since Caroline Kurgat in 2019.

Nash was one of just two Academic All-Americans to be selected from the West Region’s three conferences.

With a 4.00 GPA as a double major in economics and real estate management, Nash repeated as the conference’s overall Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year after a season where he won three GNAC titles in cross country and indoor track and field and had the best individual finish for a GNAC men’s athlete at the Division II Cross Country Championships in eight years.

During the cross country season, Nash earned his first title in dominant fashion, winning the GNAC Championships in a time of 23:46.2 over 6,000 meters to collect a 17-second victory over Simon Fraser’s Charlie Dannatt. After a second-place finish at the Division II West Regional Championships, Nash rose to the occasion at the Division II Championships in University Place, Washington. Never racing outside of the top 25, Nash finished sixth in a time of 29:57.1 over 10,000 meters.

In the indoor track and field season, Nash won titles at the GNAC Championships in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters in meet record times. He won the 3,000 meters in 8:18.32 and the 5,000 meters in a time of 14:17.09 and was recognized as the Men’s Track Athlete of the Meet.

Injuries limited Nash’s participation in the Division II Indoor Championships. He placed 12th in the 5,000 meters in a time of 14:19.39 but did not compete in the 3,000 meters. Because of injury, Nash was unable to compete in the outdoor season.

In addition to the Academic All-America honor, Nash was named to both the GNAC Cross Country and Track and Field All-Academic Teams and was named a U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Cross Country All-Academic Athlete.

Nominees to the CSC Academic All-America Teams must be of sophomore standing or greater, be a starter or important reserve on their team with a minimum GPA of 3.50 or greater and must have participated in at least 50 percent of their team’s competitions.

In a change to the program for 2022-23, all nominees who met the selection and were nominated by their institutions were named to the Academic All-District Teams. Institutions could nominate a maximum of five players per gender for the track and field/cross country teams.