GREENWOOD, Ind. - North Dakota’s Jadyn Keeler and South Dakota’s Marleen Mülla were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Division I Team, the organization announced Wednesday. Keeler earned first-team honors, while Mülla was selected to the third team.
The recognition marked the first Academic All-America honor for both Keeler and Mülla.
Keeler (Barrie, Ontario, Canada) earned an undergraduate degree in Molecular & Integrative Biology with a 3.97 GPA.
During the cross country season, the Fighting Hawks senior recorded five of the top 10 6,000-meter times in Summit League history, including a record-breaking mark of 19:08.2 at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Keeler captured the Summit League individual title and Championship MVP honors after posting a time of 19:21.08 to help North Dakota secure its first Summit League championship in any team sport.
The Ontario native later earned USTFCCCA All-America honors after finishing 26th at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in 19:13.5.
Keeler continued her historic campaign during the indoor track and field season, breaking the North Dakota school record in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:14.76 at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener hosted by Boston University. The mark qualified her for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, where she earned second-team All-America honors with a 12th-place finish in 15:40.81.
She also broke the school record in the 3,000-meter run, becoming the first North Dakota athlete to run a sub-nine-minute time with an 8:50.45 effort. Keeler added another program record in the mile, crossing the line in 4:39.06.
At the Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships, Keeler secured her second career triple crown by winning the mile, 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter titles while scoring 30 points for the Fighting Hawks.
During the outdoor season, Keeler set Summit League records in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:00.45) and the 10,000-meter run (31:56.03). She earned first-team All-America honors in the 10,000-meter run after placing sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 32:04.97 and added second-team All-America recognition in the 5,000-meter run with a 12th-place finish in 15:27.43.
Mülla (Rakvere, Estonia) graduated with a degree in art and maintained a 3.93 GPA during her time at South Dakota.
The Coyotes standout qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the pole vault after clearing 15-2.25 (4.63m) at the Nebraska Tune-Up. Mülla followed that performance by capturing the Summit League indoor pole vault title before earning first-team All-America honors with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Mülla carried that momentum into the outdoor season, posting a season-best clearance of 15-0.25 (4.58m) at the USD Twilight. She successfully defended her conference crown at the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a winning mark of 14-11 (4.55m).
The Estonian qualifier secured a return trip to the national stage by clearing 14-6.25 (4.43m) at the NCAA West Preliminary Round to earn a berth in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She concluded her season by earning second-team All-America honors after placing 12th in the pole vault with a clearance of 14-4.75 (4.39m).
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