Five members of the Case Western Reserve University women's track and field and cross country teams earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, as announced by the organization on Wednesday. Junior runner Grace Jackson, senior runners Julia Kocherzat and Melissa Phung-Rojas, senior jumper Mia Vargo, and senior vaulter Victoria Zhao were all named to the Academic All-District Team.
The 2023 Academic All-District Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Teams, selected by CSC, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom. To qualify for the award, nominees needed to have earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50, have participated in at least half of their team's contests, and completed at least one year at their school. All five student-athletes will advance to the Academic All-America ballot, with first, second, and third team selections announced on June 28.
Jackson, who earned her first career Academic All-District honors, finished her third year at CWRU with a 3.87 cumulative grade point average as a data science major. During the cross country season, she earned her first career All-Region honor, leading the Spartans and placing 34th at the Great Lakes Region Championship. Jackson earned her first career All-University Athletic Association honors during the outdoor track and field season with a third place finish in the 4x800-meter relay and earned All-Region selection in the indoor distance medley relay. She is a six-time UAA All-Academic honoree and a member of the CWRU Van Horn Society, which honors Spartan student-athletes with a GPA higher than 3.8 with junior or senior standing.
Kocherzat earned her first career Academic All-District honor after graduating from Case Western Reserve with a degree in chemical engineering and a 3.791 cumulative GPA. She recorded a career-best time at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in 2022, placing 43rd overall and third among CWRU runners. Kocherzat earned UAA All-Academic honors eight times during her career and USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Academic honors twice. During the 2023 outdoor track and field season, she placed third in the 1,500-meter run at the All-Ohio Championships, earning All-Ohio honors in the event.
Phung-Rojas set three school records as a senior during the 2022-23 track and field seasons. A member of the Van Horn Society, she graduated with a degree in cognitive science and a 3.931 cumulative GPA, earning her first career Academic All-District honor. Phung-Rojas is also an eight-time UAA All-Academic honoree. On the track, she earned three All-Region honors in the outdoor 800-meter run, indoor 800-meter run, and distance medley relay, setting school records in both 800-meter runs and the outdoor 3,000-meter run. Phung-Rojas was also a member of the record setting indoor 4x400-meter relay in 2020.
Vargo, a five-time UAA All-Academic honoree, graduated from CWRU with a degree in cognitive science and a 3.908 cumulative GPA to earn her first career Academic All-District honor. She is a three-time All-UAA honoree in track and field, placing third in the outdoor high jump in 2023, second in the event in 2022, and second in the indoor high jump in 2020. Vargo also earned All-Region honors for her mark in the outdoor high jump in 2022.
Zhao graduated from CWRU with a degree in biochemistry and a 4.0 cumulative GPA, earning the Patricia B. Kilpatrick Award for the highest grade point average among graduating CWRU four-year student-athletes. In 2022, she earned All-UAA honors in the outdoor pole vault, placing second in the conference. A two-time member of the Van Horn Society, Zhao is a five-time UAA All-Academic honoree.
The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions: NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. The Division III CSC Academic All-America program is partially financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Division III Academic All-America programs.
The Spartans finished the 2022 cross country season with a 10th place finish in the Great Lakes Region. During the indoor track and field season, five members of the team earned All-Region honors, while in the outdoor season, three members of the team were named All-Region selections with one participant in the national championship meet.
