Pair of Fighting Hawks Named Academic All-Summit League

11/21/2023 1:00:00 PM | By: Tyler Wells, FightingHawks.com

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Two North Dakota cross country student-athletes were named to the Academic All-Summit League Team, the conference announced Tuesday afternoon. Student-athletes were selected for the honor based on academic and athletic performances throughout the season.

Labatte led the Fighting Hawks in every race he ran this season. At the conference championships, he picked up First Team All-Summit League honors with a runner-up finish in the 8K, running a time of 24:40.07. With his finish at the conference meet, he recorded the second-best individual finish on the men's side at the meet in school history. He picked up All-Summit League honors for the fourth time of his career and First Team status for the second consecutive season.

At the NCAA Midwest Regional, Labatte helped the UND men to their top team finish at the regional in school history, finishing 15th with 408 points. Labatte was one spot shy of USTFCCCA All-Region accolades, taking 26th with a 10K time of 31:21.6. His time also gave him the best individual finish on the men's side at the meet in UND history.

At the beginning of the season, Labatte was named one of the Athletes to Watch by the Summit League. During the regular season, he won the Ron Pynn Classic title and was third at the SDSU Classic. Labatte carries a GPA of 3.87 while majoring in commercial aviation. He has now earned Academic All-Summit League status twice in his career.

Keeler was a consistent top-two finisher for UND on the women's side in every race she ran this year. At the Summit League Championships, she picked up All-Summit League accolades in the 6K, earning Second Team honors with a time of 21:44.01 and finishing 12th. It was the second time in her career that she earned all-conference honors.

At the regional meet, Jadyn Keeler was the second Fighting Hawk to cross the finish line in the 6K, taking 46th with a time of 21:39.2. With the help of her finish, the UND women took 13th at the meet with 365 points, giving NoDak its top team finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional in its history.

Coming into the year, Keeler was named one of the Athletes to Watch by the Summit League. During the regular season, Keeler took 144th at the Paul Short Run and beat 249 other runners at one of the top meets in the country. At the start of the season, she ran unattached at the Ron Pynn Classic and was the runner-up. She carries a GPA of 4.0 while majoring in biology and has now made the Academic All-Summit League team twice.

To be eligible for the Academic All-Summit League Team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.3, and have completed at least one full academic year at the current institution, while having competed in at least half of their team's competitions and the Summit League Championships.

Nominations are brought forth by sports information directors, and voting is conducted by both the SID's and facility athletic representatives (FARs). Each team is made up of five student-athletes receiving the most votes. In the case of a tie, both student-athletes receive the honor, which is why there are six on the women's team this season.

The complete Summit League Academic All-Conference Team can be found below:

2023 SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ACADEMIC ALL-LEAGUE TEAM

Name	School	Year	Hometown	GPA	Major
Daniel Burkhalter***	South Dakota State	Sr.	Prairie City, S.D.	4.0	Statistics
Zach Johnson	North Dakota State	Sr.	Moorhead, Minn.	3.85
Will Lohr	South Dakota State	So.	Sioux City, Iowa	3.94	Civil Engineering
Luke Labatte**	North Dakota	Sr.	Inver Grove Heights, Minn.	3.87	Commercial Aviation
Payton Smith	North Dakota State	Sr.	Carrington, N.D.	3.89

2023 SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ACADEMIC ALL-LEAGUE TEAM

Name	School	Year	Hometown	GPA	Major
Caitlin Bright	South Dakota State	Jr.	Alexandria, Minn.	4.0	Human Biology (Pre-Med)
Abrielle Jirele**	South Dakota	Jr.	Eden Prairie, Minn.	4.0	Communication Sciences & Disorders
Jadyn Keeler**	North Dakota	Jr.	Barrie, Ontario, Canada	4.0	Molecular and Integrative Biology
Ava Pankratz	St. Thomas	Jr.	Eau Claire, Wis.	4.0	Biology
Abby Ripperda***	South Dakota	Gr.	Sioux Falls, S.D.	3.84	Medical Biology