CLINTON, Miss. — The 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Men and Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field Teams were announced on Thursday, June 1 and Mississippi College placed six student-athletes on both lists.
Cole Benoit, Will Grames, Fabio Palmieri, Bre Bell, Emily Berry and Kelechi Christian all represented the Choctaw on the list. The Blue and Gold assemble are among 890 Division II student-athletes across the nation to be recognized.
The 2022-23 Academic All-District® Men’s and Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in athletic competition and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes track & field/cross country honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Christian led the Choctaw sextet with six USTFCCCA All-South Region awards with three during indoor season and three outdoor nods. The Lagos, Nigeria, native also grabbed an All-Gulf South Conference Indoor Track and Field nod. She holds a 3.86 grade point average in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science.
Benoit is a five-time USTFCCCA All-South Region selection and picked up three All-Gulf South Conference laurels during the 2022-23 season. The Carriere, Miss., native is a Public Relations and Marketing major with a 3.85 grade point average.
Palmieri equaled Benoit with three all-region accolades this season and added four all-conference nods. The Cape Town, West Cape, South Africa, product holds a 3.53 GPA in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sports Management.
Bell grabbed all-region acknowledgment in cross country and during the outdoor track and field campaign. She added an All-GSC award during the outdoor season. The Lexington, Miss., native holds a 3.85 GPA in Biology.
Rounding out the MC grouping are Grames and Berry. Berry (Bullard, Texas) earned all-conference in cross country and posted a 4.00 GPA in Kinesiology with a concentration in Pre-Physical Therapy. Grames (Moody, Ala.) recorded a 3.96 GPA in Administration of Justice and Homeland Security and finished All-GSC in outdoor track and field.
Three Choctaw cross country and track and field student-athletes have earned CSC/CoSIDA Academic All-American awards (Jennifer Cooper, 2013; Will Young, 2019; Madeline Campbell, 2019).
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 28 (women) and June 29 (men).