BEAUMONT, Texas – Accolades continue to come in for Lamar University, with 11 student-athletes named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District teams for both cross country and track and field, as announced Tuesday morning. Five men (Luke Parker, Kaleb Robinson, John Sanderson, Riley Trent, Davis Wenthe) and six women (Mariam Buenanueva Saleme, Kyndall Drones, Ashton Rainey, Xiomara Rodriguez, Neelie Schiel, Kayla Smith) combined to break the program record, previously held by last season's team (seven).
To qualify for this honor, a student-athlete 1) must be a sophomore academically and athletically, 2) maintain a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and 3) must have a top 50 individual performance at the NCAA Cross Country regional competition and/or have a top 50 regional ranking in a single track and field event for either the indoor or outdoor season.
Rainey (Ocean Springs, Miss.) finished her junior season with a 3.91 GPA in biochemistry. She placed 33rd at the NCAA Division I South Central Region Cross Country Championships and was named as a member of the All-SLC first team following a seventh-place finish at the SLC Cross Country Championships. During the track and field season, she earned four all-conference honors at both conference championship meets combined, including second (5,000 meters) and third (3,000m) indoors and two thirds in the outdoor 5,000m and 10,000m. Already the holder of the school's indoor 5,000m mark, which she got at Boston University's David Hemery Valentine Invitational, this was her second honor academically for the season as she was selected SLC Indoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year.
Three of LU's athletes who were recognized, Mariam Buenanueva Saleme (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Neelie Schiel (Chappell Hill, Texas) and Davis Wenthe (Galesville, Wisc.), all qualified for the postseason. Buenanueva Saleme earned a 3.80 GPA as a senior while having a master's in business administration. She won the outdoor heptathlon by breaking the school record with 5,679 points, which had her ranked third in the South Central Region and 19th in the nation. Buenanueva Saleme earned first-team All-SLC honors at the Southland Conference Outdoor meet in the heptathlon and was named SLC Women's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year while qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Schiel tallied a 3.93 GPA in general business. She was 11th in the region in the javelin throw, which she earned at the SLC Outdoor Championships on a school record-breaking toss of 163 feet to claim second-team honors.
Wenthe was one of two student-athletes to achieve a perfect 4.0 GPA along with Luke Parker. Earning a master's in nutrition, Wenthe compiled two All-SLC selections in the men's 400-meter hurdles (third) and the 4x400m (second) at the conference outdoor meet. He reached the 400-meter hurdles quarterfinals of the NCAA Regionals, where he set a personal-best time of 50.05 seconds.
Parker (Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England), Xiomara Rodriguez (Lasara, Texas; 3.64 GPA) and Riley Trent (Tomball, Texas; 3.77 GPA) all majored in biology. Parker collected a second-team All-SLC nod after taking second indoors in the 800m, while earning eight top-10 finishes during the season.
Rodriguez recorded nine top-10 finishes during the season. She established a season-high mark of 47.98m (157-5) in the discus at the Texas A&M Muster.
Trent had three top-30 finishes, including third in the men's 10,000m with a personal-best 32:28.29 at the Carl Kight Invitational.
Drones (Pearland, Texas) completed her sophomore year with a 3.64 GPA in finance. She broke four school records and received third-team All-SLC recognition in the hammer throw at the SLC Indoor meet.
Robinson (Euless, Texas) ended his sophomore campaign as a 3.61 student in physical education. He set a triple jump PR (14.61m/47-11.25) at the Howie Ryan Invitational.
Sanderson (Hamshire, Texas) recorded a 3.8 GPA in marketing. He broke the school's indoor 60-meter hurdles record of 7.86 seconds and later took second in the same event at the conference indoor championship meet. Then, in the outdoor championship meet, he set an 110-meter hurdle PR of 14 seconds flat.
Smith (Houston, Texas) established a 3.75 GPA in speech and hearing sciences. At the Outdoor Championships, she finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles, crossing the line with a personal-best 59.98 seconds while also being part of the 4x400m team that broke the school record (3:40.23).
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