2022 CoSIDA Academic All-District Track & Field/Cross Country Teams
SEWARD, Neb. – A group of five Bulldogs from the Concordia University Track & Field program have been honored for their academic and athletic excellence. The list of award winners named to the 2021-22 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams includes Zach Bennetts and Jacob Jennings on the men’s side and Rachel Battershell, Erin Mapson and Josie Puelz on the women’s side. Each of the Bulldog honorees landed on the NAIA All-District 3 Team, which features collegiate athletes from the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Teams were selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
2022 CoSIDA All-District Track Award Winners
· Rachel Battershell (Wheatland, Wyo.)
· Zach Bennetts (Denton, Neb.)
· Jacob Jennings (Shawnee, Kan.)
· Erin Mapson (Lincoln, Neb.)
· Josie Puelz (Lincoln, Neb.)
The 2021-22 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, selected by CoSIDA, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in athletic competition and in the classroom. The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Battershell, a senior academically and a junior athletically, has been named Academic All-District for the third time in her career. The native of Wheatland, Wyo., was honored as a First Team Academic All-America recipient in both 2020 and 2021 by CoSIDA. Entering the 2022 outdoor national meet, Battershell owned nine career All-America awards and is a two-time 400 meter national champion. In addition, Battershell has won eight career individual GPAC titles (five in individual events), owns six school records and was named the 2021 NAIA Midwest Region Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year. Battershell’s program records are in the indoor 400 meters (54.77), indoor 60 hurdles (8.81), indoor 4x400m relay (3:47.39), outdoor 100 hurdles (14.25), outdoor 4x100m relay (47.66) and outdoor 4x400m relay (3:47.26). Battershell has majored in Exercise Science, Chemistry and Biology while maintaining a near spotless cumulative grade-point average of 3.99.
Bennetts, who hails from Denton, Neb., has garnered Academic All-District honors for the first time in his career. The junior Biology and Exercise Science major swept 2022 GPAC indoor/outdoor titles in the pole vault and qualified for nationals for the third time. Bennetts achieved 2021 NAIA indoor All-America status in the pole vault and has claimed four career All-GPAC awards. His all-time personal best clearance in the pole vault is 15’ 11.”
Jennings, a native of Shawnee, Kan., owns a degree in Business Administration from Concordia and is a graduate student in the MBA program. He was recognized as both a CoSIDA Academic All-District and Second Team Academic All-American in 2021. He’s a two-time All-American as part of the 4x400 meter relay and helped the 4x100 meter relay to a GPAC title in 2021. Jennings’ career accolades include seven all-conference awards, four trips to national meets and status as an NAIA Scholar-Athlete in both basketball and track and field.
Mapson, a Lincoln native and Lincoln East High School alum, sports a perfect 4.0 GPA as an Exercise Science major. She’s a five-time NAIA All-American in the pole vault and has made six career appearances at NAIA national meets. Mapson was honored as a 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District and Academic All-America Second Team selection. She was a 2019 GPAC pole vault champion with a personal best of 12’ 7 ½” in the pole vault. Mapson has contributed to six team GPAC titles during her collegiate career.
Puelz has made her mark as the top female pole vaulter in program history. In action this week, Puelz claimed her fourth NAIA pole vault national title in a row. She’s one of only two female athletes in school history to have won at least four individual national titles. The Lincoln Lutheran alum also sports a perfect 4.0 GPA while studying Elementary Education. Puelz owns the GPAC conference meet records for both the indoor and outdoor pole vault and holds school records in the indoor (13’ 4 ½”) and outdoor (13’ 7 ¼”) pole vault. Also a four-time GPAC champion, Puelz was named the 2021 State College Female Athlete of the Year in the state of Nebraska by the Lincoln Journal Star. She earned 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District and Academic All-America First Team accolades.
First-team Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in June.