June 24, 2026
HELENA, Mont. – The 2025-26 Academic All-District® Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom Tuesday afternoon.
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA.
The criteria to the CSC Academic honor would need to have a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade point average (GPA), be at least a sophomore academically, and be a significant contributor (starter/important reserve) in their sport, with specific participation minimums like 90 percent of the contests.
These criteria recognize student-athletes excelling in both academics and athletes, with nominations submitted by institutional members of CSC. The recipients with the asterisk (*) advanced to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second-, and third-team Academic All-America® will be announced on July 15.
A total of sixteen (16) from the Frontier Conference women’s cross country/track & field members are listed. Dakota State (S.D.) and Montana Tech each collected six recipients on the list, Bismarck State (N.D.) with three recipients, and Carroll (Mont.) with two recipients. Bellevue (Neb.) registered one recipient on the list.
Twelve of those recipients will advance to the CSC national ballot (denoted by an asterisk *), including five recipients each from Dakota State and Montana Tech. Carroll added two recipients to the national ballot.
Below is the complete list of the 2026 CSC Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field Academic All-District® Team (name – year – hometown):
Bellevue (Neb.)
Alicia Rivera Camargo – junior – Bogota, Colombia
Bismarck State (N.D.)
Ava Stafford – junior – Cody, Wyo.
Aisha Zaffino – junior – Beulah, N.D.
Aliya Schock – junior – Bismarck, N.D.
Carroll (Mont.)
Brynn Wandle* – sophomore – Huntley, Mont.
Madalen Shipman* – graduate student – Dillon, Mont.
Dakota State (S.D.)
Casey Olson* – senior – Fergus Falls, Minn.
Oliviyah Thornton* – junior – Garretson, S.D.
Amelie Steins* – junior – Dusseldorf, Germany
Valerija Curikova* – junior – Riga, Latvia
Brooke Beaucaire – senior – Beaumont, Calif.
Lindsey Roth* – senior – Parkston, S.D.
Montana Tech
Cora Pesanti – senior – Anaconda, Mont.
Alya Janzen* – sophomore – Silver Star, Mont.
Tyra Opperman* – junior – Bozeman, Mont.
Abby Clark* – graduate student – Fort Benton, Mont.
Alyssa Jany* – senior – Frederick, Colo.
Jadyn Vermillion* – senior – Myrtle Creek, Ore.