NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State track & field sees five Redbirds named to the College Sport Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, as announced by the organization Wednesday.
The Academic All-District Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the competition realm and in the classroom.
Rachel Hickey held a 4.00 grade-point average while attaining a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Business. The Peru, Illinois native recently made her second straight appearance at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, competing in the women's 800m. Hickey is a three-time MVC Scholar Athlete as well as a member of the 2020 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.
Danielle Taets holds a 3.52 grade-point average while pursuing her degree in Elementary Education. The 2023 outdoor season saw Taets jump to a personal best mark of 12.13m (39-9.75) in the triple jump at the 2023 MVC Outdoor Championships, placing the Orion native 10th in school history.
Joe Morrison sits with a 3.64 grade-point average while being a part of the ISU Sport Management grad program. Morrison was recently named to the 2023 MVC Scholar Athlete Team. He collected All-Valley honors in the men's 800m at the 2023 MVC Outdoor Championships, finishing third with a time of 1:51.51.
Devin Turner has a 3.71 grade-point average and is pursuing a degree in Business/marketing from Illinois State. The Columbia, Mo. native is part of the third-fastest (39.99) and tenth-fastest (40.76) outdoor men's 4x100m relay teams, as both teams clocked top-10 program times earlier this season.
Mathis Chavand holds a 3.88 grade-point average while studying Political Science with minors in both geography and environmental science at ISU. Chavand was recently named to the 2023 MVC Scholar Athlete Team. At the 2023 MVC Outdoor Championships, Chavand finished fourth in the men's 1500m in a time of 3:58.47.
To be eligible, nominees must participate in 50 percent of the competitions that an institution schedules in either cross country, indoor track and field, or outdoor track and field. If an institution schedules multiple competitions on the same weekend (e.g., distance runners at one location, sprinters at a second location, field event athletes at a third), then the entire weekend counts as one competition for 50 percent participation purposes.
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 28 (women) and June 29 (men).
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