SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Five Shippensburg University student-athletes were named Wednesday to the 2023 Division II Academic All-District 2 ® Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Team, an award that recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performance in sport and in the classroom.
 
The Academic All-District ® Team is selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC). The Raider student-athletes recognized by CSC are Kayla Dalhouse, Kyra Gerber, Leah Graybill, Sara McKean and Nicola Puggé;.
 
Dalhouse maintains a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA through the completion of 94 credits as a sociology major who is seeking a minor in international development and youth development.
 
Outdoors, Dalhouse ran the third leg of the 4x100-meter relay that broke the all-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record, winning a conference championship with a NCAA-provisional qualifying time of 46.33 seconds. Dalhouse was also a PSAC Championships qualifier in three individual events: the 100 meters, the 200 meters and the high jump. She set PRs each event during the regular season (100 meters, 12.55 seconds; 200 meters, 26.01 seconds; high jump, 5 feet, 2 ½ inches).
 
Indoors, Dalhouse was a PSAC Championships place-winner with the distance medley relay, running the 400-meter leg on a quartet that placed fourth in 12:31.38. She also competed in the high jump.
 
For her career, Dalhouse is a two-time PSAC Champion in the 4x100-meter relay and a 2022 PSAC indoor champion with the 4x400-meter relay. Overall, Dalhouse is a seven-time PSAC Championships place-winner in relay competition and a five-time PSAC Championships qualifier in the high jump.
 
Gerber maintains a 3.88 GPA as a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in organizational development & leadership (higher education structure & policy concentration). She graduated in May 2022 with her bachelor's degree in exercise science (allied health pre-professional concentration) and a power, agility and group exercise certification having posted a 3.88 cumulative GPA.
 
The 2022-23 season began for Gerber in cross country, as she earned All-PSAC First Team (13th place) and All-Region (24th place) honors as the team's consistent No. 1 and No. 2 runner throughout the season.
 
Indoors, Gerber scored in three events at the PSAC Championships, placing third in the 800 (2:21.19), eighth in the mile (a PR of 5:11.47) and fourth with the DMR. She battled injury during the outdoor season but still managed to qualify for the 800 and 1,500 meters, placing 10th in the former at the PSAC Championships.
 
In her distinguished Raider career, Gerber became the first four-time All-PSAC cross country runner since Casey Norton (2013-16), totaling three First Team honors and one Second Team honor. She is a two-time All-Region cross country runner.
 
On the track, Gerber finishes as a 13-time PSAC Championships place-winner, including seven individual scoring efforts and six with relays. She completes her career as a four-time All-PSAC performer, twice outdoors in the 1,500 meters, indoors this season in the 800, and indoors last season with the DMR.
 
Graybill maintains a 3.99 cumulative GPA through the completion of 120 credits as a special education and early childhood education major.
 
Her marvelous 2023 track campaign concluded this past weekend with All-America Second Team honors in the 200 meters, placing ninth in the finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. During prelims at nationals, Graybill enhanced her current school record in the event to 23.46 seconds.
 
This season, she contributed to PSAC Championships with the conference-record setting 4x100-meter relay and with the team's 4x400-meter relay in addition to All-PSAC finishes in the 100 meters (third place) and the 200 meters (second place).
 
Indoors, Graybill earned All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the 200 meters, running 23.90 seconds at the NCAA Championships. She won a PSAC title in the 4x400-meter relay and was the conference runner-up in both the 60 meters and the 200 meters, making all seven of her PSAC Championships performances this season All-PSAC efforts.
 
Through three completed seasons of competition, Graybill is a 20-time PSAC Championships place-winner and a 19-time All-PSAC performer. She has won six PSAC Championships – five with relays (4x1 in 2022 and 2023, 4x4 outdoors in 2021 and 2023 and indoors in 2022) – and the 2022 PSAC Indoor title in the 400 meters. She is a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier, having also competed in the 200 meters at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships in addition to both national meets in 2023.
 
McKean maintains a 3.58 cumulative GPA through the completion of 120 credits as a double-major pursuing degrees in both supply chain management (logistics management concentration) and information systems & analytics while also seeking a minor in geographic information science.
 
Her 2023 season ended this past weekend with All-America Second Team honors (ninth place) in the long jump at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Outdoors, McKean won the PSAC title in the long jump and surpassed the 20-foot mark on multiple occasions, becoming just the third woman in school history to do so.
 
She also ran the second leg of the conference-record setting 4x100-meter relay that won a PSAC title. Individually, McKean was also a PSAC Championships qualifier in the 100 meters, running a PR of 12.38 seconds during the season, but did not compete in the open event at the conference championships.
 
Indoors, McKean was a NCAA Championships qualifier in the long jump after winning the conference title on a top mark of 19 feet, 7 ½ inches. She also was a PSAC Championships qualifier in the 60-meter dash.
 
In her career, McKean is a seven-time PSAC Championships place-winner, including a 2022 conference title with the 4x100-meter relay. She has battled injuries at multiple points throughout her career but persevered to achieve national accolades with her performances – with her 2023 campaign being her greatest to date.
 
Puggé maintains a 3.96 GPA through the completion of 60 credits as a communication, journalism & media major (journalism concentration) while seeking a minor in international studies.
 
Her spectacular 2023 season included victories in both "multis" at the PSAC Championships, winning the conference's outdoor title in the heptathlon (4,525 points) and the conference's indoor title in the pentathlon (3,277 points). She also competed individually in the shot put and the javelin at this year's PSAC Outdoor Championships and unleashed a huge personal best in the javelin of 134 feet, 5 inches that resulted in a fifth-place scoring finish for the Raiders.
 
Through two seasons, Puggé has scored in the multis in each of her conference championships appearances – placing fifth in the 2022 heptathlon and seventh in the 2022 pentathlon.
 
District 2 includes all schools from the PSAC, Mountain East Conference (MEC) and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA).
 
The five honorees are now among those eligible for consideration for the Academic All-America ® Team that will be announced June 28.
 
For more information about the Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.