2023-24 CSC Cross Country/Track & Field Academic All-Americans
SEWARD, Neb. – Of the five Concordia Bulldogs women’s student-athletes named cross country/track & field Academic All-District honorees on June 18, three have been upgraded to Academic All-America status. As announced on Tuesday (July 9) by College Sports Communicators (CSC), Kylahn Freiberg and Rylee Haecker have been chosen as NAIA First Team Academic All-Americans while Josie Puelz was honored as a Second Team Academic All-American. Honorees were awarded based on voting by members of CSC.
Puelz has earned the fourth CSC Academic All-America award of her career while Freiberg and Haecker have each been recognized twice with such distinction. All three Bulldogs completed their collegiate careers this past 2023-24 season.
The 2023-24 Academic All-America® Cross Country/Track & Field Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically 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.
Women’s Academic All-Americans
Kylahn Freiberg | Nampa, Idaho
T&F: 7x NAIA All-American … ran leadoff leg for 2024 indoor national championship winning 4x800m relay (school record time of 9:06.48) … 3x Great Plains Athletic Conference event champion (indoor 1,000m, outdoor 1,500m and outdoor 3,000m) … eight NAIA national meet appearances … 2023 NAIA indoor 1,000-meter national runner up (2:54.87) and 2024 NAIA indoor mile national runner up (4:54.09) … school record holder in the outdoor 1,500 meters (4:31.08) and 3,000 meters (9:54.40) … member of nine GPAC championship winning teams and six teams that earned NAIA national championship trophies (top four or better) … 2023 and 2024 CSC Academic All-District/All-America … 4x NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
XC: 2023 NAIA All-American (16th) … 3x GPAC All-Conference … qualified for the NAIA national meet in 2019, 2022 and 2023 … helped the 2019 team to a GPAC title while placing as the conference individual runner up … 2019 team placed 12th nationally and 2023 team placed 18th nationally … 4x NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
Rylee Haecker | Davenport, Neb.
T&F: 10x NAIA All-American (six in individual events; four in relays) … ran second leg for 2024 indoor national championship winning 4x800m relay (school record time of 9:06.48) … 7x Great Plains Athletic Conference event champion … school record holder in the indoor 1,000 meters (2:52.88) … seven NAIA national meet appearances … member of teams that won eight GPAC team championships and six teams that earned NAIA national championship trophies (top four or better) … 2023 and 2024 CSC Academic All-District/All-America … 3x NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
XC: 2x All-GPAC runner; 3x NAIA national qualifier … helped the 2023 team place 18th nationally … 3x NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
Josie Puelz | Lincoln, Neb.
5x NAIA pole vault national champion (runner up 2023 outdoor) … 8x NAIA pole vault All-American … 6x Great Plains Athletic Conference pole vault champion … 2021-22 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year award winner … 4x CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-American/All-District … 3x NAIA Women’s Field Scholar Athlete of the Year, as selected by the USTFCCCA … 2021 State College Female Athlete of the Year in the state of Nebraska by the Lincoln Journal Star … 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 … has helped the program to nine GPAC team titles and to six NAIA national championship team trophies (top four or better) … 4x NAIA Scholar-Athlete.