Twenty-five M State student-athletes have been named to the fall 2023 Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) All-Academic Team for outstanding athletic and academic achievements.
Student-athletes are eligible to receive the honor if they have full-time student status, participate in a college sport sponsored by the National Junior College Athletic Association, and possess a strong grade point average that meets or exceeds MCAC standards. The All-Academic awards demonstrate the commitment from member institutions, administration, coaches and student-athletes to provide and engage in a balanced educational experience, which is an integral philosophy of the MCAC.
All-Academic honorees are named twice annually, in spring and fall. Fall honorees are comprised of athletes who participated in fall sports, which at M State include football, golf and volleyball.
In M State Spartans football, 11 players were recognized for their efforts during the fall 2023 semester: Kameron Blackmon, KJ Cooper, Josh Gonleh, Keondre Hodges, Nicholas Jones, Jaden Reed, Taufa’asa Siaki, Malik Smith, Sam Tagg, Nicholas Tshivaudi and Zayne Weinrich.
M State golfers also excelled, with six men’s and women’s players receiving MCAC honors. Those players are Ellia Soydara, Charlie Fuder, Nathan Hillman, Riley Stromlund, Brock Thompson and Adam Vatnsdal. Altogether, the men’s and women’s teams achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.53.
Lady Spartan volleyball also had a strong cumulative team grade point average, of 3.55, and eight individual players received MCAC All-Academic awards: Madison Ballweg, Cassidy Dahl, Kendra Emery, Madison Foss, Faith Marion, Ariana Nopolos, Kaleigh Peterson and Sydney Schaefer.
For full team rosters that include information on players’ hometowns, visit https://athletics.minnesota.edu/landing/index.