Five Women's Track & Field Athletes Earn CSC Academic All-District

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ATHENS, W.Va. – Five student-athletes from the Concord University women's cross country and track & field teams have been College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District, the organization released Tuesday afternoon.

The honorees were senior Madison Cornett, junior Lilly Jackson, sophomore Sara Turner, junior Katy Walkup and graduate student Emily Wallace.

Cornett, a native of Beckley, West Virginia, makes CSC Academic All-District for the second time in her career. She graduated from CU in the spring with a 3.84 GPA and her degree in geology. In competition, Cornett earned All-Mountain East Conference Second Team for the first time in her cross country career in October. Cornett was top 15 in the Atlantic Region in the 10,000-meter run this spring with a personal-record time of 39:11. She finished 10^th in the 10,000-meter run at the MEC Championships. Academically, Cornett was on the Concord Dean's List all eight semesters of her undergraduate career while making the All-MEC Academic Team seven times.

Like Cornett, Jackson lands on the CSC Academic All-District Team for a second straight season. Jackson carried a 3.86 GPA throughout her undergraduate career which lasted just three years. The Union, West Virginia needed just six semesters to graduate in the health science program. Jackson scored points in the javelin throw for the second straight season at the MEC Outdoor Championships as she placed sixth. Her best throw of the year was a career-best 35.07 meters toss which ranked 26^th in the Atlantic Region. Jackson was on the All-MEC Academic Team three times.

Perhaps no women's track & field athlete saw gains like Turner throughout the cross country and track seasons. The Hinton, West Virginia native was 11^th in the 10,000-meters at the MEC Outdoor Championships after qualifying for the indoor championships in the mile. She was consistently in the top five for Concord during the cross country season. She carries a 3.70 GPA in biology. Turner has been honored on the All-MEC Academic Team four times through her sophomore season.

Walkup, a native of Summersville, West Virginia, continued her strong career with an eighth-place finish in the 10,000-meters at the MEC Championships—that was after she just missed All-MEC Second Team honors in cross country. She ran a career-best 18:44 in the 5,000-meters at the MEC Indoor Championships, finishing ninth. In the classroom, Walkup has a 3.88 GPA in health science. Walkup has been perfect in making the Concord Dean's List during her career, and has also appeared on the All-MEC Academic Team all six semesters. Additionally, Walkup has made the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team twice in cross country.

Wallace, a native of Dry Fork, Virginia, closed her storybook career during the outdoor season as she finished fourth in the 1,500-meter run at the MEC Championships. She just missed All-Atlantic Region honors in the 1,5000-meters with a time of 4:40.12. And her 800-meter time of 2:17.71 was top 20 regionally. Overall, Wallace was a three-time All-Atlantic Region selection in cross country while making All-MEC First Team four times. On the track, Wallace earned All-Atlantic Region four times and was the indoor mile conference champion in 2022. Tuesday's announcement marks her third time on the CSC Academic All-District Team. And she was a 2024 finalist for the MEC Scholar-Athlete Award. Wallace graduated from CU with a 3.58 in elementary education and earned her master's degree in educational leadership with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

All five athletes will advance to the CSC Academic All-American ballot based on their credentials.

To be eligible for CSC Academic All-District, student-athletes must rank in the top 50 of the Atlantic Region in a specific track & field event OR be in the top 50 at the regional cross country championship while carrying a 3.50 cumulative GPA. Only five athletes of the same gender can be nominated by each institution.