KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fifteen members of the Missouri Southern men's and women's cross country teams earned Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association academic awards for the 2025 season, the league announced Tuesday. Five Lion men earned the accolades while 10 members of the Southern women's squad picked up the distinction.
2025 MIAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL MEMBERS (3.0 GPA)
Name Academic Level GPA Major
Zaben Barnes Senior 3.62 Education-Math Grades 9-12
Kaden Cole Senior 3.13 General Studies
Jaden Deaton Senior 3.47 Exercise Science
Miguel Solano Jr. Junior 3.13 Health Science-Respiratory Care
Chase Sorrell Sophomore 3.74 Sport & Recreation Management
2025 MIAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL MEMBERS (3.0 GPA)
Name Academic Level GPA Major
Alanna Bundy Senior 3.89 Psychology
Isabella Frost Junior 3.84 Biomedical Sciences
Lilah Genel Senior 3.66 Chemistry
Hadley Goins Sophomore 3.57 Undeclared
Jayna Gunter Senior 3.25 Business Administration-Finance
Hailey Nelson Senior 3.93 Biology
Zoe Nelson Senior 3.96 Biomedical Sciences
Ava Power Sophomore 4.00 Education-Early Elementary
Rylee Simons Sophomore 4.00 English-Literary Studies
Kyla Weems Junior 3.15 English-Literary Studies
2025 MIAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY SCHOLAR-ATHLETES (3.50 GPA, All-MIAA)
Name Academic Level GPA Major
Lilah Genel Senior 3.66 Chemistry
2025 MIAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD RECIPIENTS (4.0 GPA)
Name Academic Level GPA Major
Ava Power Sophomore 4.00 Education-Early Elementary
Rylee Simons Sophomore 4.00 English-Literary Studies
Two-hundred and 14 cross country student-athletes from 13 MIAA institutions were honored by the Association for their efforts in the classroom during the 2025 cross country season including 107 men and 107 women. There were also 19 cross country runners named MIAA Scholar-Athletes and 36 who earned the Association's Academic Excellence Award.
The league's prestigious Academic Excellence Award was awarded to 36 cross country runners in the 2025 season (25 women, 11 men). An Academic Excellence Award recipient must have a grade point average used by the institution for NCAA academic certification of at least 4.00 at the certifying member institution. The honoree also must have at least two terms of grades reported at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms.
The Scholar-Athlete Award distinction went to just 19 runners who excelled on the cross-country course and in the classroom (12 women, seven men). In the classroom, an MIAA Scholar-Athlete is an individual who has a grade point average used by the institution for purposes of NCAA academic certification of 3.50 or better at the certifying member institution, with at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution. The runner must have also received All-MIAA honors at the 2025 MIAA Cross Country Championships to achieve Scholar-Athlete status.
Two hundred and 14 MIAA cross country runners were named to the league's Academic Honor Roll. To be recognized on the league's Academic Honor Roll, student-athletes must have a grade point average used by the institution for purposes of NCAA academic certification of 3.00 or above at the certifying member institution. They also need at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms.
Only two MIAA men and five MIAA women were honored with all three of the league's academic awards. Northwest Missouri's John Langill and Pittsburg State's Nathan Hinrichs earned all three awards in the men's cross country season, while Nebraska Kearney's Ella Buhlke and Kassidy Stuckey, Pittsburg State's Lorna Rae Pierce and Kaci Singer, and Rogers State's Kaylee Nay were the five student-athletes to earn all three academic honors in the women's season.
These academic awards do not include first-year freshmen or first-year transfers. The MIAA will release its Newcomer Academic Awards from the 2025-26 academic year in late June.
MIAA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Academic Honor Roll Members: 107
Scholar-Athletes: 7
Academic Excellence Award Recipients: 11
MIAA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Academic Honor Roll Members: 107
Scholar-Athletes: 12
Academic Excellence Award Recipients: 25
