Twelve North Central College student-athletes were recognized Tuesday, June 23, for combining NCAA-level athletic performance with a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher.

Six women and six men from the Cardinals' cross country and track and field programs earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors. In the 2024-25 cycle, fewer than 5 percent of student-athletes across all sports and divisions nationally received the distinction, according to CSC.

Among them is Alivia Henkel, an applied chemistry major who won the NCAA Division III national title in the 400-meter hurdles this spring with a school-record 58.65 seconds. Pole vaulter Gwen Berenyi, a management major, earned her second All-District nod after qualifying for both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships and finishing 13th nationally outdoors.

On the men's side, health science major Ben Balboa set a school record of 54.09 meters (177 feet, 5 inches) in the discus and earned his first NCAA Championships bid. BJ Sorg, an environmental studies major, swept all three CCIW Elite 26 Awards, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA competing at the conference championship meet in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track.

Four of the 12 advanced to the CSC Academic All-America ballot: Berenyi and Henkel from the women's program, and Oscar Frontjes (physics) and Sorg from the men's. All-America selections will be announced Wednesday, July 15.

The full women's list: Berenyi, Henkel, Elianna Keyes (psychology), Cali Minkie (sociology and psychology), Ciré Smith (marketing and sport management), and Lily Anderson (psychology). The men: Frontjes, Balboa, Alexander Knight (exercise science), Sorg, Ari Elmayan (communication studies), and Kevin Fist (social science-history).

To qualify, student-athletes must hold at least sophomore standing, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher, and rank in the top 50 nationally in an individual event or finish in the top 50 at their regional cross country championship.

The honors cap a dominant season for NCC's track program. The men's team claimed its eighth consecutive CCIW Outdoor Championship title in May 2026. North Central, an NCAA Division III school in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, fields 26 sports with about 28 percent of its undergraduates competing as student-athletes.