Nebraska Wesleyan University had three track & field athletes named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Track & Field/Cross Country teams that were recently announced.  Senior Brian Copley was on the District VII First-Team in the college division.  Senior Jackie Spelts and junior Kevin Janata were both voted to the Second-Team.

Copley now advances to the ballot for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America track & field/cross country team.  The men’s team will be announced June 22.

Copley (Syracuse, Neb.) has a perfect 4.00 GPA with a history/political science major.  He was a three-time All-GPAC performer in cross country and competed at four straight NCAA III Championships.  In track & field, he had an NCAA provisional mark in the 5,000 meters and just missed qualifying for nationals.  He earned four All-GPAC honors this season and was the GPAC runner-up in the indoor 5,000 meters.  He was a 12-time All-GPAC performer in track & field.

Spelts (Burwell, Neb.) has a 3.84 GPA with a health & fitness studies major.  She was the lone NWU female on the Academic All-District team.  Spelts earned her second straight All-American honor in cross country this season by placing ninth at the NCAA III Championships.  She also won her first All-American award in track & field this season by placing seventh in the 5,000 meters.  She will leave NWU with four track & field school records.

Janata (Howells, Neb.) has a 3.82 GPA in history/social science education.  Janata earned his first All-American award last week by placing fourth in the 110 hurdles at the NCAA III Outdoor Championships.  He also earned the NCAA Elite 88 Award for the highest GPA at the NCAA III Track Championships.

Student-athletes must meet four criteria to earn ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District honors: 1) must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better, 2) must have at least two terms of attendance at the institution, 3) must be at least a sophomore in athletic eligibility, 4) must be a starter or key reserve in their respective sport.

The All-District selection is determined by voting of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). District VII is comprised of NCAA Division II and Division III and NAIA institutions from the states of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.