NWU Athletics
Alex Linden, Sports Information Director
LINCOLN – Nebraska Wesleyan University had four track & field athletes named as Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 track & field/cross country selections. The team was announced Tuesday (May 29) and NWU had three women named All-District in the NCAA III division and one male athlete received All-District honors.
Hannah Awtry, Elizabeth Jones and Kaylee Jones were recognized on the women’s 10-member CoSIDA Academic All-District team with Trent Koehler earning recognition on the men’s All-District team. Both Elizabeth and Kaylee Jones are repeat Academic All-District selections.
All four athletes now advance to the national ballot for CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition that will be announced on June 19. As a university, NWU is tied for 7th among all levels for its number of Academic All-Americans with 170.
Junior Hannah Awtry (Columbus, Neb.) has a 3.91 GPA as a social work major. Awtry was an All-Region selection in cross country and ran on NWU’s national qualifying team. She placed 6th at the IIAC cross country championships to lead the Prairie Wolves to team title. In track & field, she was 5th at the conference meet in the steeplechase and 6th in the 1,500. Awtry was the 2016 conference champion in the indoor 5,000 and is a four-time All-Conference performer in track & field. She is an USTFCCCA All-Academic selection in both track and cross country.
Junior Elizabeth Jones (Omaha, Neb.) has a 3.92 GPA in exercise science. She was part of two national champion 4×400 relay teams in 2018 and has ran on five straight national title relay teams. Jones picked up four All-American awards as a junior, placing 2nd in 400 at Indoor meet and 3rd outdoors. She was IIAC outdoor champion in 400 and 4×400 and runner-up in 200 meters. She was the Central Region Track Athlete of Year for outdoor season and 3-time All-Region performer. Jones earned five All-IIAC honors in 2018 and has 14 All-Conference awards for her career. Elizabeth was 2nd-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2017.
Junior Kaylee Jones (Omaha, Neb.) has a 3.92 GPA as an exercise science major. She ran anchor on 4×400 relay team that won 5th straight NCAA III National title at outdoor nationals. Jones was 5th in the 400 meters at outdoor nationals after earning 4th indoors to earn four All-American awards during her junior season. She was the Central Region Indoor Track Athlete of Year and earned five All-Region awards as a junior. She was IIAC champion in 400 meters and 4×200 indoors then was champion in 4×400 at outdoor meet and placed 2nd in the 400. Kaylee is a 10-time All-Conference performer and 6-time conference champion. She was 3rd-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2017.
Sophomore Trent Koehler (York, Neb.) has a 3.64 GPA as a biology major to earn his first Academic All-District selection. Koehler was a two-time NCAA III All-American in the long jump during his sophomore season. He placed 7th in the event at the indoor meet and finished 8th at outdoor championships. Koelher was 2018 IIAC Indoor Champion in the triple jump. He was runner-up in both long jump and triple jump at IIAC Outdoor meet. In two seasons, he is a 7-time All-Conference performer. He was IIAC Athlete of the Week in January and was a four-time All-Region performer this season.