COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A trio of Chadron State cross-country athletes earned recognition for their hard work in the classroom as well as on the course when they were named to the RMAC All-Academic First Team by the conference office Thursday afternoon.

Graduate student Kyle Shirley and sophomore Wyatt Bly were each named to the men's first team while junior Lydia Peters received a selection to the women's first team. It is the second straight year Shirley, the 2024 RMAC Cross Country Summit Award winner, has been named to the first team, but the first career selection for Bly and Peters.

In addition to the first-team honorees, seven other CSC student-athletes were named to the All-Academic Honor Roll – sophomore Adam Beard on the men's side and sophomores Katelyn Beshara, Ivy Hise, Samantha Rodewald, Izabella Miller and Zelma Rudd and senior Alissa Wieman on the women's side.

According to available CSC records, which date back to 2013, the three first-team selections between the men and the women are the most ever for the program in a single season. 

For the men, Shirley's and Bly's selections mark the first time a pair of CSC teammates have earned first team All-Academic honors in the same season. For the women, Peters is the first CSC women's cross country All-Academic First Team selection since Nicky Banzhaf in 2017. 

Kyle Shirley, a native of Queen Creek, Arizona, continues to pad his academic trophy case. A grad student, Shirley is in his first semester of an MBA at Chadron State after graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA while obtaining a general business degree. He was previously on the All-Academic First Team in 2023 and the All-Academic Honor Roll in 2022.

At the RMAC meet in October, Shirley was named the winner of the 2024 RMAC Men's Cross Country Summit Award, the conference's highest academic honor for each sport. Shirley placed 80^th at the RMAC meet, where he ran a season-best 8K time and was the first Eagle runner to cross the line. He placed 79^th in a 10K at the NCAA regional meet.

Wyatt Bly, a sophomore from Conifer, Colorado, also has a perfect 4.0 GPA as a mathematics major. Bly was CSC's top finisher, male or female, at this year's regional meet, running a 10K in 33:51.2 to place 64^th. Bly was the fastest Eagle runner in three of CSC's five meets during the 2024 season.

Lydia Peters, a junior from Sidney, Nebraska, also has a perfect 4.0 GPA as a sport, fitness and recreation major. Peters bumped her way up to the first team after finishing on the All-Academic Honor Roll a season ago. 

Peters was at her best in the biggest meets throughout the 2024 season, running a career-best 8K to finish 60^th at the RMAC meet, helping the CSC women to their best team finish (12^th) since 2017. Peters finished 85^th at the regional meet and was one of the top two Eagle runners at every meet this season.

CSC's honor roll recipients are led by Alissa Wieman, who earns a spot on the All-Academic Honor Roll for the third straight year. The other six Eagle runners on the honor roll are all earning All-Academic status for the first time.

To qualify for the All-Academic First Team, a player must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average, have completed at least two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters at their current active member institution and used a season of eligibility. The RMAC's sports information directors vote on eligible nominees to select a 14-person first team. 

To qualify for the All-Academic Honor Roll, student-athletes must have a 3.30 cumulative GPA or better and meet the other requirements. 

Colorado School of Mines's Loic Scomparin was named the RMAC Men's Cross Country Academic Athlete of the Year while Colorado Christian's Shannon King won the women's honor.