Owls hit max number of CSC Academic All-District honors

Reaching the maximum number of honorees allowed per institution, the Kenyon College Owls had five student-athletes listed on the College Sports Communicators 2024-25 Academic All-District Women's Track and Field Team. The Kenyon group included seniors Paula Soric and Ellianne Retzlaff, junior Anna Brown, and sophomores Olivia Ide and Sadie Olson.

For Soric, the honor was her third straight, making her the first in program history to reach that career total. Brown is now a two-time winner of CSC’s academic award, while the other three Kenyon student-athletes are all first-time recipients of the recognition.

To be eligible for the Academic All-District Team, a student-athlete had to be a key contributor who produced a Top-50 performance in the region in a single, individual event (relays not included). The student-athlete also had to be on the team's active roster for at least two years and had to possess a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade point average.

Soric, who just graduated with a degree in neuroscience, is one of Kenyon’s most decorated track and field student-athletes in recent history. She qualified for this year’s CSC Academic All-District Team by ranking second in the region in both the indoor and outdoor triple jump. In outdoor competition, she qualified for nationals, where she set a Kenyon record and earned All-American status.

Retzlaff and Ide ran distance events and were members of both Kenyon’s cross country and track and field teams. Retzlaff graduated in May with degrees in Arabic and international studies. Ide returns to campus in August to continue her studies in molecular biology. In regard to regional rankings, Retzlaff made the CSC Academic All-District Team through her efforts in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, an event in which she posted the fourth-best time in the region. Ide covered distances of 3,000-meters and beyond. Her top regional rank was ninth in the 10,000-meter race. She also cleared the criteria for both the indoor and outdoor 5,000, as well as the indoor 3,000.

Brown, like Soric, is a Kenyon record-setter, with the program’s top time in the 800-meter outdoor event. A double major in studio art and English, Brown rang up Academic All-District marks in both the indoor and outdoor venues. Her respective regional ranks in the event were fifth and seventh. A conference champ in the outdoor 800, Brown also registered award-winning qualifying marks in the mile (indoor) and the 1,500-meter run (outdoor).

Olson used her versatility to gain the academic honor through her results in the pentathlon. Having limited opportunities to compete in the slate of events, she performed well enough at the conference championship meet to post a regional rank at No. 20. Away from the track and in the classroom, Olson focuses on her major of biology.