2023 CSC At-Large Academic All-District
SEWARD, Neb. – As announced on Tuesday (May 23) by College Sports Communicators, Katie Birtell and Avery Lewis have been recognized as 2023 Academic All-District® Team selections. Both Bulldogs were also all-conference award winners and earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete distinction. Birtell and Lewis are the first student-athletes from the Concordia University Competitive Dance program to ever be honored as Academic All-District recipients.
The 2022-23 Academic All-District® At-Large Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Student-athletes must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher in order to be nominated for this award. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA — for each gender.
A May 2023 graduate, Birtell garnered three All-GPAC awards during her Concordia career. The Columbus, Neb., native studied Biology. Meanwhile, the Seward native Lewis garnered 2023 Honorable Mention All-GPAC accolades. She is studying Chemistry and Biology. Birtell and Lewis helped Head Coach Mandi Maser’s 2023 competitive dance team achieve school record-breaking scores during the 2023 campaign. Concordia finished ranked 13th nationally in average score (81.97). In addition, the Bulldogs celebrated a Concordia Invitational Tournament title in late January.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced on June 22.