KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan cross country and track and field team has had four student-athletes named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, with Makayla Perez, Maggie Raab, Brooke Soper and Katelyn Spooner all receiving the honor.

The 2023 Academic All-District® Women's Track & Field / Cross Country Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 28.

As a graduate student, Perez has maintained a 4.0 GPA in educational foundations, while also being dominant on the track. She is a two-time All-MAC First Team selection. Her first honor came during cross country season where she finished fifth at the MAC Championships. She then won the 5K at the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships for her second First Team All-MAC honor. She currently holds four top-10 program records, two of which are the top times in program history. Her 10K time of 33:35.56 is more than one minute faster than the next best time. Her 5K time of 16:03.59 is more than 30 seconds better than the next fastest time. 

An accountancy major, Raab holds a 3.59 GPA, while also posting strong results on the track. Throughout the course of the three seasons (cross country, indoor track and outdoor track), she posted at least one personal-best time in each season. During the outdoor season, she was seeded outside the top eight in the 800-meter run but used a PR time of 2:13.03 to earn fifth place at the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. 

An Okemos, Mich. native, Soper has maintained a 3.78 GPA in digital media and journalism. Additionally, she has earned Academic All-MAC honors for the 2022 cross country season and 2023 indoor track campaign. She will be up for nomination in the outdoor season when the voting opens in June. Soper was excellent at the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, helping WMU post early points. She was seeded outside the top eight in the 10,000-meter run but was able to place eighth with a time of 38:10.69. 

Spooner has been an excellent student and athlete for the Broncos in her time with the program. Now a graduate student, she has a GPA of 3.83 in accountancy. She was an Academic All-MAC selection during the cross country and indoor track seasons and will be up for nomination during outdoor season when the ballot opens in June. Spooner had an excellent year, which was highlighted by posting a top-five time in school history in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Her time of 10:57.75 currently ranks fourth in school history. 

All four Broncos who were selected are now eligible for CSC Academic All-America voting.