Thursday, June 1, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – Recognizing the best in athletic and academic ability, a total of 43 GNAC student-athletes have been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division II Academic All-District Track and Field/Cross Country Teams.

Alaska Anchorage led the way with 10 selections while both Central Washington and Western Washington had nine selections between the men’s and women’s teams.

Nominees to the CSC Academic All-District 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.

The GNAC’s list of honorees includes nine student-athletes who won conference championships. The list includes the conference’s two cross country champions in Alaska Anchorage sophomore Coleman Nash and Alaska sophomore Kendall Kramer. Both athletes went on to earn All-American honors with top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships and Nash went on to win the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter titles at the GNAC Indoor Championships.

The list also includes Seattle Pacific senior Vanessa Aniteye, who won both the GNAC and Division II indoor titles in the 800 meters.

Other GNAC champions named to the CSC Academic All-District Team include Central Washington senior Braydon Maier in the indoor men’s pole vault, Northwest Nazarene sophomore Kinsey Yenor in the indoor and outdoor women’s pole vault, Western Washington junior Raine Westfall in the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer, Western Washington junior Katie Potts in the outdoor women’s discus, Western Washington junior Andrew Oslin in the outdoor men’s 10,000 meters and Alaska Anchorage junior Joshua Wagner in the outdoor men’s 110-meter hurdles.

With selection to the Academic All-District Teams, the 43 GNAC student-athletes are now eligible for selection to the CSC Division II Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Tram. The women’s team will be announced on June 28 and the men’s team will be announced on June 29.

COLLEGE SPORTS COMMUNICATORS
TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
GNAC Honorees
Men
Alaska Anchorage: Jacob Belanger, Coleman Nash, Felix Robertson, Ries Tveit, Joshua Wagner
Central Washington: Angus Beaton, Chris Hines, Braydon Maier, Ty Savely, Zack Sundt
Simon Fraser: Mitchell Gibbs, Jorrin Lenton, Jordan Schmidt
Western Washington: Jonah Bloom, Ryan Greenwalt, Kaleb Korta, Brian Le, Andrew Oslin

Women
Alaska: Naomi Bailey, Rosie Fordham, Kendall Kramer
Alaska Anchorage: Kaitlyn Backman, Blanca De Arvizu Sarrias, Carlotta Duenninger, Leonie Flad, Joei Vidad
Central Washington: McCall DeChenne, Payton Ellenbaas, Sarah Sewell, Madison Thompson
Northwest Nazarene: Laine DeJong, Abbey Wood, Kinsey Yenor
Seattle Pacific: Vanessa Aniteye
Simon Fraser: Emily Chilton, Ella Marion, Maddy Paugh, Diana Voloshin
Western Washington: Caitlin Cheney, Mia Crocker, Katie Potts, Annie Tran, Raine Westfall