Illinois State track & field's Ariana Cranston was announced as a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-District team for the second-consecutive year as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America organization on Friday afternoon.
The native of Angola, Indiana is one of seven Missouri Valley Conference track & field/cross country student-athletes to be selected to the prestigious team. Joining Cranston on the women's team from the Valley are Bradley's McKenzie Altmayer, Southern Illinois' Ty'Juana Eason and Valparaiso's Katherine Germann. Loyola's Riley DeMevlenaere and Bradley's Jack Franklin and Jake Hoffert represent the MVC on the men's side.
The 2020 Google Cloud Academic All-District Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country teams, selected by CoSIDA, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. To be eligible for Academic All-District consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale, be at least a sophomore in both athletic and academic standing, and be nominated by his or her institution's sports information director.
Cranston was named to the All-District 5 team, which includes student-athletes from the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Academic All-America ballot, with first- and second-team Academic All-America honorees to be announced from June 22-25.
A senior pole vaulter for the Redbirds during the 2019-20 season, Cranston has been successful in both her sport and in the classroom. Cranston graduated from Illinois State earlier this month with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a Spanish minor, finishing with a 3.84 cumulative grade point average. Beyond the classroom, she has won four Valley pole vault titles and is the No. 2 pole vaulter in ISU indoor and outdoor track & field history.
For a full list of Academic All-District nominees, visit CoSIDA.com.
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