2020-21 Academic All-District Cross Country/Track & Field Teams

GREENWOOD, Ind. – Each an All-American with a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, Academy of Art track & field's Natalia Novak, Hava Turner, and James Young were recognized for their combination of athletic and scholastic success as members of their respective 2021 Academic All-District Women's and Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Student-athletes were selected by members of CoSIDA and recognized as the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. To qualify for the CoSIDA All-District Cross Country/Track & Field Teams in Division II, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or greater through the most-recent semester and must have completed one full calendar year at his or her institution (graduate students are an exception to this requirement). On the women's side, a total of 98 individuals from 60 institutions were honored while the men had 89 individuals from 60 institutions. First Team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Academic All-America ballot to be announced in mid-August.

Boasting the highest cumulative GPA of the trio of Urban Knights honored, Novak's 3.82 GPA in the School of Communications & Media Technologies came along with a host of accomplishments and accolades on the track in 2021. In her two opportunities to contest the indoor mile, the native of Békéscsaba, Hungary finished second at the Indoor Gorilla Classic then first at the UIndy Last Chance Meet while also competing in the distance medley relay in both meets. She would finish the indoor season as an All-Region honoree in both events.

Leading up to her first National Championship meet since joining Academy of Art, Novak etched her name in program history during the outdoor season, breaking records in the 800m, 1500m, and 3000m over a two-month span. After capturing the 3000m record with a 10:17.91 time at the State Center Invitational on Mar. 20, her first 1500m of the season at the APU Invitational on Apr. 3 was initially the top mark, but she quickly cut more than four seconds off that with a 4:18.60, the 14th-fastest time in NCAA DII history, at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Apr. 17. One of six automatic qualifying times run by NCAA DII student-athletes this season, Novak's effort slotted her fourth in the nation.

The Communications & Media Technologies major would then dominate the 800m and 1500m at the PacWest Championships on May 1, winning both titles, breaking the ART U record with a 2:09.57 in the 800m, and walking away the PacWest Most Outstanding Track Athlete. At Outdoor Nationals, Novak finished eighth overall in the 1500m to earn the second All-American honor of her career.

While compiling a 3.76 cumulative GPA in the School of Motion Pictures & Television, Turner built upon her 2019 All-American run as a member of ART U's outdoor 4x100m relay team with more accomplishments in 2021. In her two indoor meets, the native of St. Louis contributed legs on both the distance medley relay and 4x400m at the Indoor Gorilla Classic and the UIndy Last Chance Meet. Both quartets would garner All-Region selections, setting her up for some breakout individual performances along with more relay success in the subsequent outdoor campaign.

After having singular opportunities to compete in the 100m and 200m in March and early April, Turner had a truly memorable Apr. 16 at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Opening with a 45.75 provisional qualifier with her teammates in the 4x100m, the Motion Pictures & Television major then dropped the best 100m and 200m times of her career shortly thereafter. She went 11.95 in the 100m then 24.22 in the 200m to take over the fifth spot in Academy of Art history with wind-legal marks in each event. Next, at the PacWest Championships, she helped the Urban Knights to silver medals in the 4x100m while also picking up bronzes in the 200m and 4x400m. Turner finished off her 2021 season with All-Region selections in the 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m for a total of seven in her career.

Fresh off being named PacWest Athlete of the Year, Young capped a historic 2021 campaign on the track with a 3.75 cumulative GPA in the School of Advertising. After qualifying for Indoor Nationals with a 4:05.06 indoor mile time on the first day of the Indoor Gorilla Classic and his anchor leg in the men's 9:45.51 automatically-qualifying distance medley relay which broke the school record, Young earned USTFCCCA West Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year along with a pair of All-Region selections heading into the indoor finale. An All-American in both events, the Advertising major's incredible finish in the mile not only was the second-fastest time in National Championship meet history and fourth-fastest in NCAA DII history all-time, but it also resulted in him becoming a National Champion.

Young's momentum from that achievement carried into an impressive outdoor season as well. In his first outdoor race, the 5000m at the APU Invitational on Apr. 3, he debuted at third in program history with a time of 14:09.50 which has remained among the nation's top 30 as an Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier. Two weeks later, however, the Blyth, England native's biggest highlight of the season came at the Bryan Clay Invitational where he delivered the second-fastest 1500m effort in NCAA DII history at 3:37.72.

First among NCAA DII runners by nearly four seconds through the end of the regular season, the performance led the Advertising major to be named both USTFCCCA DII National Athlete of the Week and PacWest Track Athlete of the Week in addition to breaking the program record. Those stellar outings behind him, Young cruised to PacWest titles in both the 1500m and 5000m on May 1.

The PacWest Track Athlete of the Year and eventual USTFCCCA West Region Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and two-time All-Region honoree thereafter, he closed out the regular season with the third-fastest 1500m time in NCAA DII history, 3:38.31, at Sound Running's "Track Meet" on May 15. In action one last time in the 1500m at Outdoor Nationals, Young was the favorite going into the final where he incredibly dove across the finish line to become a National Champion once more. On the season, Young was a three-time All-American, giving him four in his career.

This is the first time Novak, Turner, and Young have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in their respective careers.