FRISCO, Texas – Four men and six women of the University of the Incarnate Word track and field team were named Southland Academic All-Conference, announced the league on Tuesday afternoon. Those named to the team were Parker Barrett, Matthew Hernandez, Cash Kunkel, Rodney Littlejohn, Maryn DeMaio, Madi Henry, Deja Keys, Alisa Novosad, Erika Sebastion and Sullivan Wilke.
 
"I'm excited for each of these fantastic student-athletes to be recognized for their tremendous work this year in the classroom," said head coach Dr. Derek Riedel. "In our program, we place a heavy emphasis on competing in the classroom and excelling academically." 
 
Of the men named to the academic all-conference team, Hernandez makes his second appearance, while Littlejohn makes his fourth, and the only one to do so in the conference. 
 
The six women named is tied for most of the Southland Conference teams alongside Stephen F. Austin who also placed six on the team. Novosad and Henry both make their second appearance on the list. 
 
"These great student-athletes set the tone for one of the core tenants of our program and showed that they can excel in the classroom at or above the level that they excelled in athletically," said Riedel. "This is a true testament to their perseverance, grit, and work ethic because they were also leaders on the track and that's the true definition of student-athlete: excelling at a high level in both."
 
Southland Conference Track & Field All-Academic Teams are selected by a 50-percent rule. Of the total number of nominees, half are named all-academic selections. Honorees are nominated and voted upon by head coaches, sports information directors, and academic staff members from each university. Student-Athletes of the Year are voted on by the Southland awards committee, consisting of one administrator from each member school.
 
Men's Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year: Franck DiSanza, Southeastern Louisiana
Women's Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year: Natashia Jackson, Northwestern State
 
 
2021 Southland Conference Men's Track & Field Academic All-Conference Team

Name	School	Cl.	GPA	Major
Jack Marshall	Abilene Christian	Jr.	3.67	Management
Jared Hamilton3	Central Arkansas	Gr.	4.00	M.B.A.
Jaron Hamilton*	Central Arkansas	Gr.	3.50	Master's, Sport Management
Zachary Jewell*2	Central Arkansas	Sr.	4.00	Master's, Geo Info System
Scott Boon*2	Houston Baptist	Jr.	3.85	International Business
Ben Drew*	Houston Baptist	Sr.	3.66	Finance
Garrett Gibson	Houston Baptist	Jr.	3.26	Accounting
Hudson Hall	Houston Baptist	Sr.	3.64	Psychology
Denim Rogers*	Houston Baptist	Gr.	4.00	Master's, Sports Management
Parker Barrett	UIW	So.	3.86	Criminal Justice
Matthew Hernandez2	UIW	Jr.	3.74	Sports Management
Cash Kunkel	UIW	So.	3.97	Business Administration
Rodney Littlejohn4	UIW	Gr.	3.93	Master's, Kinesiology
Matthew Arnold3	Lamar	Gr.	3.58	English
Eli Peveto	Lamar	Gr.	4.00	Computer Science
Gideon Cheplak*	McNeese	Jr.	3.07	Applied & Natural Sciences
Henry Kiplagat	McNeese	Sr.	3.58	General Studies
Cade Litolff	New Orleans	So.	3.71	Chemistry
Alec Snell*	New Orleans	So.	3.51	Mechanical Engineering
Destine Scott	Northwestern State	Jr.	3.20	General Studies
Quindarrius Thompson	Northwestern State	Gr.	4.00	Master's, Homeland Security
Andrew Bosquez*	Sam Houston	Sr.	3.02	Sociology
Eric Callaway	Sam Houston	Sr.	3.12	Electronics & Computer Engineering
Denzel Downing	Sam Houston	Sr.	3.17	Communications
Clayton Fritsch*2	Sam Houston	Sr.	3.31	Construction Management
Anthony Cordero	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	3.14	Engineering Technology
Stevon Crooks	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	3.00	Business Administration
Thomas Daigle	Southeastern Louisiana	So.	3.78	History
Frank DiSanza*^	Southeastern Louisiana	So.	3.74	Computer Science
D.J. Ruffin*	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	3.05	Sociology
Slavko Stevic*	Southeastern Louisiana	So.	3.93	Computer Science
Trenton Bridges*	Stephen F. Austin	Sr.	3.00	Kinesiology
Branson Ellis*2	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	3.20	Agricultural Engineering Technology
Asani Hylton*	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	3.10	Health Science
Muzuri Mattar*	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	3.20	Health Science
Cord Neal	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	4.00	Animal Science
Timor Barrett	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Sr.	3.44	Kinesiology
Dennis Kipngeno	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	So.	3.53	Pre-Nursing
Keenan Lawrence	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	3.73	Accounting

 
2020 Southland Conference Women's Track & Field Academic All-Conference Team

Name	School	Cl.	GPA	Major
Ella Antilla*	Abilene Christian	Sr.	3.67	Psychology
Payton Kirk	Abilene Christian	Sr.	3.80	Engineering
Irene Rono*	Abilene Christian	Jr.	3.51	Nursing
Zoe Spinn*2	Abilene Christian	Sr.	3.78	Nursing
Taylor Tolen*2	Abilene Christian	Sr.	3.67	Kinesiology
Ajah Criner*3	Central Arkansas	Sr.	3.76	Athletic Training
Tamara Reeves	Central Arkansas	So.	4.00	Undecided
Tyler Rose	Central Arkansas	Jr.	3.83	Health Education
Jessica Rabius*	Houston Baptist	Jr.	3.90	Kinesiology
Kaitlin Smith*3	Houston Baptist	Gr.	4.00	Kinesiology-Sports Management
Maryn DeMaio	UIW	So.	3.45	Marketing
Madison Henry2	UIW	Gr.	4.00	M.B.A.
Deja Keys	UIW	Gr.	4.00	MAA – Criminal Justice
Alisa Novosad2	UIW	Jr.	4.00	Rehabilitative Sciences
Erekha Sebastion	UIW	Sr.	3.43	Elementary Education
Sullivan Wilke	UIW	So.	3.89	Rehabilitative Sciences
Parl Eelma	Lamar	So.	3.61	Graphic Design
Alanna Arvie*4	McNeese	Gr.	4.00	HHP-Exercise Physiology
Malayia Jedkins2	McNeese	Jr.	3.13	Health Systems Management
Grace McKenzie*	McNeese	Gr.	4.00	HHP – Exercise Physiology & Health Promotion
Jemira Thomlinson	McNeese	Gr.	3.14	M.B.A.
Arina Kleshchukova2	New Orleans	Jr.	3.81	Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Admin.
Allie Louis	New Orleans	Sr.	3.62	Human Perf. & Health Promotion
Shamarah Shannon	New Orleans	So.	3.33	Human Perf. & Health Promotion
Chelsea Harrington*	Nicholls	Jr.	3.13	Psychology
Elsa Rijpstra	Nicholls	So.	4.00	Allied Health Sciences
Annemarie Broussard*2	Northwestern State	Jr.	3.63	Health & Exercise Science
Natashia Jackson^*2	Northwestern State	Gr.	4.00	Homeland Security
Kristin McDuffie	Northwestern State	Gr.	3.05	Sports Administration
Janiel Moore*	Northwestern State	Sr.	3.30	Psychology
Jasmyn Steels*4	Northwestern State	Gr.	3.63	Sports Administration
Allie Angelo	Sam Houston	Sr.	3.44	Kinesiology
Sandy Clarkin2	Sam Houston	Jr.	3.96	Kinesiology
Halie Daniel	Sam Houston	Gr.	3.97	Homeland Security
Rebeca Gonzalez2	Sam Houston	Gr.	4.00	M.B.A.
Sophie Daigle	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	3.28	Kinesiology
Indya Jackson	Southeastern Louisiana	So.	3.35	Biology
Grace Walford	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	3.95	Elementary Special Education
Charlotte Wissing*	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	3.66	Marketing
Kaylee Bizzell2	Stephen F. Austin	Sr.	3.70	Nursing
Mathilde Coquillaud-Salomon*	Stephen F. Austin	So.	3.80	Kinesiology
Avery Ellis-Byerly2	Stephen F. Austin	Sr.	4.00	Kinesiology
Nissi Kabongo*	Stephen F. Austin	So.	3.40	Psychology
Brianna Nolen	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	3.40	Health Science
Kelsey Ramirez*3	Stephen F. Austin	Sr.	3.85	Kinesiology

 
* Automatic selection
2 Two-time all-academic selection
3 Three-time all-academic selection
4 Four-time all-academic selection
^ Student-Athlete of the Year