BURNSVILLE, Minn. — Forty-eight University of Sioux Falls student-athletes from cross country, football, soccer and volleyball have earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Fall All-Academic honors, as announced today (Thursday, Nov. 18) by the league office.
 
The NSIC announced that 775 student-athletes have earned NSIC All-Academic honors for the 2020 fall athletic season. To be eligible for this honor, a student-athlete must be a member of the varsity traveling team and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or better. Furthermore, the student-athlete must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at her/his institution (true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and ineligible athletic transfers are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at that institution.

The NSIC highlighted the all-academic team members with a 3.60 or higher GPA on the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence. This fall, 331 of the 775 student-athletes had a 3.60 GPA or higher, or 43.0% of the all-academic team. A total of 444 were named to the All-Academic Team of Excellence. Of that list, USF had 23 of its 48 Academic All-NSIC honorees earn a spot on the All-Academic Team of Excellence (noted by individual below in respective team lists with asterisk).

During the nine years in the NSIC, USF has had 449 Academic All-NSIC honorees from fall sports programs. Those totals include 194 for football; 66 for men's cross country, 57 for women's cross country, 62 in soccer and 70 in volleyball. USF has had at last 48 Academic All-NSIC selections every year since 2015 with 48 in 2020, 52 in 2019, 58 in 2018, 57 in 2017, 53 in 2016 and 50 in 2015. 
 
Men's Cross Country (5)
Logan Hansen*, Sr., Hurley, S.D.; David Ecker*, Jr., Eau Claire, Wisc.; Aaron Voigt*, Jr., Gregory, S.D.; Wil Modjeski*, So., Winona, Minn.; Seth Overholt*, Sr., Chester, S.D.

Hanson, and Overholt are three-year NSIC All-Academic honorees while Voigt and Ecker earned their second honor and Modjeski being named for the first time.
Hanson and Overholt earned their third All-Academic Team of Excellence honor. Voigt and Ecker were honored for a second with Modjeski earning his first.

In the eight years in the NSIC, the Men's Cross Country team has had 66 academic all-league honorees. The team had nine honorees in 2012 following by eight in 2013, six in 2014, seven in 2015, three in 2016, nine in 2017;10 in 2018, nine in 2019 and 5 in 2020. A total of 16 cross country student-athletes, including five in 2020, have been named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence.

Women's Cross Country (11)
Annika Aho*, So., Menahga, Minn.; Cassidy O'Meara*, So., Moorhead, Minn.; Taryn Ceglowski*, Sr., Salida, Colo.; Annabelle Schulz*, Sr., Spearfish, S.D.; Karlee Simmons*, So., Keystone, S.D.; Lauren Wells, So., Brandon, S.D.; Hannah Ebert, Jr., Beresford, S.D.; Sadie Thompson, Sr., Dawson, Minn.; Kiara Mattern, Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.; Hannah Yunker, So., Omaha, Neb.; Tianna Wald, Sr., Pelican Rapids, Minn.

Ceglowski, Schulz, and Mattern were honored for a third time on the Academic All-NSIC team.  Ebert, Thompson and Wald picked up their second honor with O'Meara, Aho, Simmons, Wells, and Yunker being named for the first time. Overall, the Women's Cross Country team has had 57 honorees, including three in 2012, four in 2013, five in 2014, five in 2015, five in 2016, eight in each of 2017, 2018 and 2019 and 11 in 2020. Twenty-one USF women's cross country student-athletes, which includes 11 in 2020, have been named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence. This is the third Academic Team of Excellence honor for Ceglowski, and Schulz. Aho, O'Meara and Simmons earned their first-ever Academic Team of Excellence Award.

Football (14)
Ben Sokup*, Jr., Altoona, Wis.; Jack Schelhaas*, Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.; Peter Narrai*, So., Franklin, Wis.; Joe Timp*, So., Cottage Grove, Minn.; Jordan Knapke*, So., Aurora, Colo.; Brennan Moran* So., North Sioux City, S.D.; Grant Rice, Jr., Gayville, S.D.; Josh Swanson, So., Pewaukee, Wis.; Ty Smith, Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.; Jackson Wright Jr., Sergeant Bluff, Iowa; Nathan Varns, So., Sioux Falls, S.D.; Joey Wehrkamp, Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.; Nate Durfee, Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.; Bryce Couch, Jr., Trenton, Ohio.

Third-year Academic All-NSIC honorees include Schelhaas and Smith. Second-time recipients include Fedrick, Wehrkamp, Durfee and Wright. First-year Academic All-NSIC recipients include Narrai, Timp, Knapke, Moran, Rice, Swanson, Couch and Varns.

Overall, the team has had 194 honorees since 2012 with 18 in 2012, 19 in 2013, 23 in 2014, 31 in 2015, 29 in 2016, 25 in 2017;18 in 2018, 17 in 2019 and 14 in 2020. Twenty, which includes six from the 2020 football squad, have been named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence. Of that total, Schelhaas earned his third award. Two-time Academic Team of Excellence honors include Soukup as Narrai, Timp, Knapke, and Moran were honored for the first time.

Soccer (11)
Lindsey Power*, Sr., Lindstrom, Minn.; Kyla Gushard*, Jr., Lincoln, Neb.; Lily Frederickson*, Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn.; Lauren LaFavre*, Sr., Burnsville, Minn.; Catie Caruso*, So., Greendale, Wis.; Taylor Kelley, Jr., Sioux City, Iowa; Olivia Valdez, Sr. Broomfield, Colo.; Bailey Kehrli, So., Elkhorn, Neb.; Kennedi Keller, So., Sioux Falls S.D.; Alexis Naujokaitis, So., Omaha, Neb.; and Aundria Vargas, Jr., Hayward, Calif.

LaFavre was named to the team for the fourth time.   Frederickson, Power and Valdez were three-time Academic All-NSIC selections. Named for the first time was Gushard, Caruso, Kelley, Kehrli, Keller, Naujokaitis and Vargas.  The Soccer Team has had a total of 73 honorees since joining the league, including seven in 2012, six in 2013, one in 2014, six in 2016, seven in 2017 and a program-high 12 in 2018 as well as in 2019 and 11 in 2020. Nineteen USF soccer student-athletes, which includes five this year, have been named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence. LaFavre and Power earned their third Academic Team of Excellence award. Second-time recipients included Frederickson, and Gushard while Caruso was a first-time honoree.

Volleyball (7)
Krista Goerger*, Sr., Mankato, Minn.; Marlee Schneider*, So., Custer, S.D.; Hayley Fox, So., St. Paul, Neb.; Nicole Jacobson, So., Dakota Dunes, S.D.; TiaRose Nagami, Jr., Pearl City, Hawaii; Averey Yaksich, Jr., Omaha, Neb.; and Madison Wassink, So., Sioux Falls. S.D.

The Volleyball team has had 70 student-athletes earn academic all-league honors including six in 2012, six in 2013, eight in 2014, eight in 2015, 11 in 2016, eight in 2017, 10 in 2018, six in 2019 and seven in 2020. Goerger was named Academic All-NSIC for a third time while Yaksich and Nagami picked up their second honor. First-time recipients include Schneider, Fox, Jacobson and Wassink. Thirteen USF volleyball student-athletes, which includes two in 2020, have been named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence. Goerger earned her third and Schneider her first Academic Team of Excellence honor.