Case Western Reserve University junior Jacob Slater, a member of the cross country and track & field teams, was selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Second Team for his athletic and academic accomplishments during the 2025-26 year.
Slater is the 19th student-athlete in the history of the CWRU cross country and track & field teams to be named an Academic All-American, including nine since 2020. He is the 10th Spartan student-athlete across the department to earn Academic All-America acclaim this academic year.
Since the inception of the Academic All-America program, 134 CWRU student-athletes have earned 196 Academic All-America selections.
Slater is coming off another strong season as one of the top distance runners on the team. He claimed all-region honors during the cross country season with a third-place finish at the Great Lakes Championship meet, going on to finish 99th at the NCAA Championship. He was the team's top finisher in five of the six races he competed in during the season, including at the University Athletic Association Championship, when he placed 15th overall. He was named the UAA Athlete of the Week for Men's Cross Country twice during the campaign.
Slater added an all-region honor in the indoor distance medley relay, while ranking 13th in the region in the indoor 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:38.17. He secured an all-region honor during the outdoor season as well, finishing the year eighth in the region in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:49.76.
Slater completed his junior season with a 3.969 cumulative GPA while majoring in mechanical engineering. He earned Academic All-District honors for the second year in a row this season and is a four-time UAA All-Academic honoree. Slater was also named a USTFCCCA All-Academic athlete this year.
The 2025-26 Academic All-America Track & Field/ Cross Country Team, selected by CSC, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes cross country and track & field 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 2025-26 Division III Academic All-America programs.
