MORROW, Ga. – For the first time in the history of Clayton State Athletics, a pair of student-athletes have been selected to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team as graduate Maia Kuhnen (Trier, Germany) and junior Darina Drozdova (St. Petersburg, Russia) were so named for Women's Cross Country/Track & Field on Thursday, May 26.
 
For Kuhnen, it marks a second straight selection, also the first of its kind in department history, while Drozdova earns her first selection. Both will now be eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-American honors which will be announced on June 23.
 
The pair join Joni Guffey as the only other member of the Clayton State women's cross country/track programs to earn the award. She did so following the 2002 campaign and was named to the Verizon Academic All-District squad.
 
They also continue what has been a significant increase in such national honors for Laker student-athletes as women's soccer graduate Maria Marti Bartis (Girona, Spain) became the first ever First-Team Academic All-American in school history in November 2015.
 
"This is another nice postseason honor for Maia and Darina," said head cross country and track & field coach Mike Mead. "We've never had two earn it in the same season from the same team. These two epitomize what it means to be a student-athlete."
 
Kuhnen competed in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track & field, excelling in each. During the cross country season she placed in the top five in 6-of-7 meets, including fifth at the Peach Belt Conference Championships, earning her All-Conference honors. She would also go on to finish ninth in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, falling just a half second short of qualifying for nationals.
 
Additionally, she was named United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region and was selected as PBC Runner of the Week (9/9).
 
She would be no less impressive during the indoor season, earning USTFCCCA All-Region recognition in the mile and 3,000-meters. Kuhnen earned those honors while notching a pair of first place finishes and breaking the 10-year old mile record of Clayton State Hall of Famer Allison Kreutzer. She accomplished the latter by finishing 3-of-27 against a Division I field at the Vanderbilt Music City Challenge.
 
During the outdoor season, she competed in 11 events, earning a top five finish or better in 10 of them. That included a pair of first place outings, four runner-up finishes and a third place in the 800-meters at the 2016 Peach Belt Conference Championships. The latter also earned her All-Conference honors to go along with a spot on the All-PBC Academic Team.
 
While excelling in three sports, Kuhnen has maintained her graduate level coursework in Developmental Psychology with a 3.91 GPA. She has also served as the Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the student representative on the Clayton State University Strategic Planning Committee and been extremely involved in multiple groups on campus and community service.
 
Drozdova earns her first CoSIDA Academic All-District honor in a sport that is not her primary. A member of the Lakers women's tennis program, the native of St. Petersburg, Russia contributed throughout the cross country season and was unable to compete in either track season due to her commitments with tennis.
 
She competed in six of the teams meets, placing 27^th at the West Georgia Wolves Cross Country Invitational (9/11) with a time of 25:56.50 on the 5k course and placed 54^th at the JSU/Struts XC Season Opener (9/4). Drozdova also posted a 6k season best 26:23.10 at the 2016 Peach Belt Conference Championships.
 
During the tennis season she played in all 19 matches, going 6-13. Between both cross country and tennis, she has combined to earn four All-PBC Academic Team selections (two for each squad) and has maintained a stellar 3.95 GPA in Communications and Media Studies.
 
The latter also earned her a share of the Lakers highest academic honor, the Dottie Bumbalough and Pat Keane Academic Award, representing the individual(s) who hold the highest cumulative GPA. She has also been a member of SAAC throughout her career.
 
The two selections also tie for the most of any team in District 3 this year, joining Wingate as the only other program to accomplish that while half of the 10 selections, including both Lakers, were international students.
 
Both Kuhnen and Drozdova will now seek to join Marti Bartis and former men's track & field athlete Robert Spezzecatena as Academic All-Americans. The latter is the only other student-athlete to achieve the honor, doing so with Third-Team honors in 2012.
 
ABOUT THE COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA PROGRAM
The 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
 
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
 
2016 CoSIDA Academic Women's Cross Country/Track & Field All-District Teams (District 3)
Alyssa Johnson, Wingate          
Valerie Griesche, Wingate        
Maia Kuhnen, Clayton State   
Haylea Salamon, Lenoir-Rhyne            
Tori Gaul, Carson Newman      
Rachel Pasko, Georgia College              
Nicole Smith, Young Harris     
Johanna Schonecker, Queens (N.C.)    
Cheyenne Thompson, Montevallo        
Darina Drozdova, Clayton State