64 USU student athletes earn academic All-Mountain West honors in fall
Utah State was ranked third in the Mountain West Conference with 64 student-athletes being recognized as academic All-Mountain West team selections. Students who have earned the honors come from the sports of football, soccer, cross country, and volleyball.
Out of the 64 athletes chosen from the university, USU teams produced 19 student-athletes from soccer, 17 from football, 11 from volleyball, and 10 from women’s cross country along with seven from men’s cross country.
Six of the 64 student-athletes from the fall sports program who earned academic all-Mountain West honors maintained a 4.00 grade point average, including cross country runners Kashley Carter and Sydney Jacobs, soccer players Mealii Enos and Sadie Merlich, and volleyball players Bailey Downing and Madi Olson.
Senior Tori Parkinson has now earned academic all-conference honors eight times in both his cross country and track and field careers, four of which in cross country. Alongside Parkinson, fellow senior and cross country/track and field teammate Tylee Newman-Skinner is earning this accolade for the seventh time overall, including her third time in cross country.
Eight other Utah State cross country/track and field student-athletes earned all-academic honors for the fifth time overall and third time in cross country, including seniors Spencer Fehlberg, Kelsey Yamauchi-Richins, and Kelsey Girardelli, and juniors Kody Gould, Kashley Carter, Cierra Simmons, and Shannon Maloney, while senior Jordan Beutler has been recognized for the fifth time overall and second time in cross country.
Other student-athletes were awarded academic all-conference accolades for the fourth time include three cross country/track and field athletes, junior Tavia Dutson, and sophomores James Withers and Adam Hendrickson. Two soccer players have earned this honor as well, with seniors Bailee Hammond and Wesley Hamblin, along with two volleyball players in seniors Rachel Gale-Hammond and Carly Lenzen.
Aggie athletes being honored for the third time include one cross country/track and field athlete in sophomore Darren Harman, three football players consisting of juniors Aaron Dalton, Jontrell Rocquemore, and Zach Van Leeuwen, three soccer players in senior Mikayla Howes, and juniors Jordyn Chung-Hoon and Jaylen Hinckley, and two volleyball players with senior Kayla DeCoursey and junior Lauren O’Brien.
Out of the 64 student-athletes who have earned the fall academic all-Mountain West honors for USU, 40 of them are earning this honor for at least the second time.
In order to be eligible for this selection, student-athletes must have completed at least a single academic term at the member institution, while keeping a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0 or better, and be a starter or significant contributor on their respective team.