NEW ORLEANS – All-Academic Athletes for the 2023 NCAA Division II Men's Track & Field seasons were announced on Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), and five men and four women Benedict College student-athletes were recognized for their academic achievement.
 
Receiving All-Academic honors from Benedict are: high jumper Ras Jesse Delancy; distance runner Donald Kibet; jumper Shemar Miller; sprinter Matthew Paul; and jumper Rajaun Ricketts. Representing Benedict's women's team are jumper Jada David; sprinter Kanesha Moses; hurdler Santiona Freeman and hurdler Megan Thompson.
 
The criteria to be named an NCAA Division II All-Academic Athlete includes having a minimum cumulative grade point average of a 3.25 on a 4.0 scale through the end of the semester of competition;  have completed at least 24 semester hours/36 quarter hours through the end of the semester of competition at the institution; transfer students and/or graduate students are to include only grades earned at the current nominating institution; and the student-athlete must have achieved an automatic or provisional qualifying mark (individual or relay event) for either the indoor season or outdoor season.
 
Delancy, who also played on the men's volleyball team, had the 22^nd-best high jump mark in Division II with a jump of 6 feet, 10 ¾ inches at the SIAC Championship. A sport management major, he has a 3.86 GPA.
 
Kibet ran a time of 29:41.06 in the 10,000 meter, the 30^th best time in D2 at the Raleigh Relays. A computer science major, he has a 3.79 GPA.
 
Miller finished third in the triple jump event at the NCAA D2 Indoor National Championship with a season-best jump of 15.60 meters (51 feet, 2 ¼ inches).  Miller is a sport management major with a 3.52 GPA.
 
Paul ran a 47.66 in the 400-meter race at the SIAC Championship, which ranked 49^th in D2. Paul has a 4.0 GPA as a sport management major.
 
Ricketts qualified for the D2 Outdoor National Championship in the triple jump, where he finished 10^th. His best jump of the season was 15.11 meters (49 feet, 7 inches) at the Electric City Invitational.
 
David hit an indoor provisional qualifying mark in the women's triple jump of 11.77 meters (38 feet, 7 ½ inches) at the JDL Early Bird Invitational. She is a biology major with a 3.61 GPA.
 
Moses hit a provisional qualifying time of 55.02 at the SIAC Championship in the 400-meter run, the 28^th-best time in D2. She is a biology major with a 3.85 GPA.
 
Freeman had the 28^th-best time in D2 in the 100-meter hurdles with a 14.06 at the Electric City Invitational. She is a business administration major with a 3.81 GPA.
 
Thompson had the 30-best time in D2 in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.18 at the Lee Last Chance Meet. She is a sport management major with a 3.97 GPA.
 
For a complete list of all the USTFCCA All-Academic Athletes, visit www.ustfccca.org.