ORLANDO – The embodiment of a student-athlete includes the never-ending balance of athletics and academics. The College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team honored five Knights who showed exemplary prowess this season.
Athletes named to the team have attained a GPA of at least 3.50 and secured marks in at least one event that rank among the top 25 in the southeast region.
Big 12 Champion Rayniah Jones, fresh off her third-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, boasted an impressive 3.92 GPA as she embarks on her master’s in political science. Jones has consistently matched her performances on the track with a remarkable presence in the classroom, graduating with a bachelor’s in criminal science last May and a 3.82 GPA.
Earlier this month, the Miami native tallied her 10th career All-America honor with a program record 12.59 in the 100m hurdles at Hayward Field. The outing bested her 12.78 which secured Jones the Big 12 title at the outdoor championships in Waco, Texas, the first in UCF history. While her collegiate career has come to an end, she will be back in Eugene, Oregon, later this month for the United States Olympic Trials, her second appearance in the event all-time.
Her fellow hurdles partner, Adaobi Tabugbo, had a breakout campaign during her first season in Orlando, placing third at the 2024 Big 12 Indoor Championship 60m hurdles in Lubbock, Texas. A transfer from fellow Big 12 program, BYU, Tabugbo attained her degree in healthcare administration and currently holds a graduate GPA of 3.893.
In her farewell to collegiate track and field, Janyah Jasper rounds out the sprints/hurdles squad presence on the all-district team. The 2023 American Athletic Conference 60m champion at the indoor championships graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, holding an impressive 3.975 GPA.
A pair of multis athletes, Holly Cassels and Natalia Madison both garnered placement on the all-district team as the tandem had a strong campaign in both the pentathlon and heptathlon. Both sit among the top four in program history in each event, as Cassels climbed to second in the heptathlon during the outdoor season (5,252 Pts.).
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a remarkable 4.0 GPA. Madison is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree of her own in kinesiology and holds a 3.783 GPA.