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

GREENWOOD, Ind. – Advancing from their CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, Academy of Art track & field's Natalia Novak and James Young were each recognized for their combination of athletic and scholastic success as members of their respective 2021 Academic All-America Women's and Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Novak was a member of the Second Team while Young garnered a First Team selection.

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-America 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). There were 45 selections across three teams for each gender with the women representing 33 institutions and the men representing 36 institutions.

Boasting the highest cumulative GPA of the two Urban Knights honored and a USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual for the second consecutive season, 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.

The PacWest Athlete of the Year and a USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual for the second consecutive 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 both Novak and Young have earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in their respective careers. Behind Gatien Airiau, Marion Presigny, and Valentin Pepiot, they are the fourth and fifth CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in ART U history.