FRISCO, Texas - Nicholls State University women's cross country runner
Elsa Rijpstra has been named to the Southland Conference All-Academic First Team, as the league office announced Wednesday its annual academic honors.
A native of Oentsjerk, The Netherlands, Rijpstra has maintained a 4.0 grade point average as an allied health sciences major. She was one of just two runners on the 10-member academic squad to hold a perfect GPA.
Rijpstra landed on All-Southland Third Team for the season after finishing 12th in the conference championships. She had three top 5 finishes this fall including placing second in the Louisiana Tech Mook 4 Invitational. Rijpstra was recognized by the league for her performance, being named Southland Cross Country Runner of the Week.
In addition to her individual accolades, Rijpstra helped the Colonels to their highest team finish in school history at the Southland Conference Championship.
Women's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year: Arina Kleshchukova, New Orleans
Women's Cross Country All-Academic First Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Jessica Rabius* |
HBU |
Gr. |
East Bernard, Texas |
3.94 |
Kinesiology - Sport Management |
| Aureila Jepkorir* |
McNeese |
So. |
Kapsbet, Kenya |
3.40 |
General Studies |
| Arina Kleshchukova* |
New Orleans |
Sr. |
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan |
3.80 |
Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Administration |
| Elsa Rijpstra |
Nicholls |
Jr. |
Oentsjerk, The Netherlands |
4.0 |
Allied Health Sciences |
| Quin Johnson |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Sr. |
San Tan Valley, Ariz. |
4.0 |
Criminal Justice |
Women's Cross Country All-Academic Second Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Maryn DeMario |
UIW |
Jr. |
Georgetown, Texas |
3.53 |
Administration
Minor: Marketing |
| Alia Henderson |
UIW |
Sr. |
Bandera, Texas |
3.67 |
Government
Minor: American Politics |
| Alissa Lander |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Minden, La. |
3.06 |
General Studies |
| Valentina Campos |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Gr. |
Comfort, Texas |
3.14 |
MBA, Undergrad Kinesiology |
| Jasmine Perez |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Jr. |
Ricardo, Texas |
3.13 |
Criminal Justice |
* Automatic selection; 2021 First Team All-Conference
