2021-22 Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Teams

AUSTIN, Texas – Adding to the history she has made over the last three years in an Academy of Art uniform, cross country/track & field student-athlete Natalia Novak continued with another "first" as her athletic and scholastic success was recognized in her second straight year on the 2022 Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Narrowed down from the 87 student-athletes who earned Academic All-District honors, 46 individuals made one of three Academic All-America teams as selected by a CoSIDA panel to recognize the nation's top combined performances athletically and in the classroom. To qualify for the CoSIDA Academic All-District Cross Country/Track & Field Teams in Division II and go on to become an All-American, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or greater through the most-recent semester and completed one full calendar year at her institution. Novak was one of seven student-athletes from the West Region to be recognized and one of three to make First Team.

Novak maintained a 3.71 cumulative grade point average in the School of Communications & Media Technologies while enjoying one of the best cross country seasons by an Urban Knight to date. En route to becoming the third PacWest Individual Champion in program history, Novak led Academy of Art in two of four races which included a third place finish at the SF State Invitational on Sept. 10. The eventual PacWest Runner of the Year then proceeded to help her team win its first PacWest title (as the USTFCCCA NCAA DII National Athlete of the Week), finish fourth at NCAA DII West Regionals (highest in program history), and finish an All-American at Nationals with a new 6k personal record 21:20.7 that was third-fastest in ART U history.

During the successive indoor track & field season, Novak could be found breaking numerous program records. The native of Békéscsaba, Hungary began with a 4:45.71 mile at the Fastrack Last Chance Invitational on Feb. 25, added a 9:30.67 mark in the 3000m at the BU Last Chance Meet on Feb. 27, then joined her teammates for an 11:39.07 distance medley relay time at Indoor Nationals on Mar. 11 which made the quartet All-Americans.

In the Knights' outdoor track & field season, Novak defended her PacWest title in the 800m (giving her five career All-PacWest First Team honors), later broke her own program record in the event with a 2:07.81 at the APU Last Chance Meet on May 13, and entered Outdoor Nationals ranked ninth in the 1500m as well as 10th in the 800m. After taking 10th in the 1500m on May 28, the Communications & Media Technologies major closed the 2022 campaign out with her sixth All-American honor.

This is the second time Novak, a six-time career All-American and 12-time All-Region honoree, has earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in her career. Following Valentin Pepiot, Gatien Airiau, Marion Presigny, her own and that of James Young in 2021, Novak collects the sixth CoSIDA Academic All-American honor in ART U history while becoming the first repeat winner.