(Story Courtesy of Colorado College Sports Information Department)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Colorado College recent graduate Kendall Accetta earned yet another national honor as she was named to the Academic All-America Track & Field/Cross Country Team by College Sports Communicators.
Accetta, a third-team selection, is the second member of CC's women's track & field program to receive the national award since it began in 1952, joining Division III national heptathlon champion Heather O'Brien in 1999, and the first from the cross country program. A native of Portland, Ore., Accetta graduated with a 3.95 cumulative grade-point average and a double major in English and Political Science.
Accetta produced an outstanding 2023-24 campaign in both sports, including being named the SCAC Runner of the Year after winning the 2023 individual cross country title and helping the Tigers to a Top 25 result at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship Meet, where she placed 44th individually out of 292 runners.
She followed that up this past spring by finishing 12th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, earning her second All-America honor in that event. Accetta was named the SCAC Women's Track Athlete of the Year after winning the steeplechase and the 1,500-meter races at the league meet and she holds the school record in the steeplechase (10:38.73).
"Kendall is very deserving of being recognized for this national award," Colorado College track and field head coach Katie Bretscher said. "She has earned the highest level of athletic achievement in our sport while maintaining a near-perfect grade-point average as a double major."
Accetta was named the recipient of the Laura Golden award as Colorado College's top female student-athlete among the 2024 graduating class.
