2023 All-PacWest Teams

IRVINE, Calif. – Following a 2023 campaign that saw both finish among the top 10 at the Pacific West Conference Championship on Oct. 21 before making the All-Region Team, Academy of Art women's cross country redshirt sophomore Katharina Goetschl and junior Grace Southern were each officially recognized among the All-PacWest Second Team honorees in an announcement by the conference.

Debuting for Academy of Art cross country this year, Goetschl paced the Urban Knights in three of six races while finishing second on the team in the three others. The native of Oberndorf an der Melk, Austria steadily dropped her 6k time over the course of her three meets leading ART U, taking eighth of 85 runners at the PacWest Championship then ending as the fastest newcomer at NCAA Division II West Regionals with the fourth-fastest mark (21:20.5) in program history. Goetschl closed her campaign strong, narrowly missing qualification to Nationals, taking 12th of 164 overall at Regionals.

Southern, also competing for her first ART U cross country season, was the Knights' top finisher in each of the first three meets, adding runner-up results to Goetschl in the final three. The PacWest Runner of the Week after two of those three competitions (Sept. 4, Sept. 25), Southern opened as the top NCAA DII runner at the USF Invitational on Sept. 1, was runner-up in a 49-runner field at the Kim Duyst Twilight Meet on Sept. 9, then delivered a new Academy of Art 6k record (20:58.6) with her fourth-place finish at the Cougar Challenge on Sept. 23. The Textile Design major wrapped up the fall with a 10th-place performance at the PacWest Championship and in 17th overall at Regionals.

These are the first cross country All-PacWest Team selections for Goetschl and Southern in their respective careers.