GREENWOOD, Ind. -- A dozen Montana Tech track & field student-athletes collected Academic All-District honors from College Sports Communicators, CSC announced Tuesday. 

Six Oredigger women — Abby Clark, Alyssa Jany, Ayla Janzen, Tyra Opperman, Cora Pesanti, and Jadyn Vermillion — and six men — Wyatt Johnson, Nicoló Lancini, Matthew Moreni, Justin Morgan, Cameron Tobiness, and Ben Zerr — earned spots on the dual-emphasis honor roll. 

Student-athletes must carry a 3.5-or-better cumulative GPA, rank in the top 25 in their conference in an event, and be a sophomore or above to be eligible for the award.  

Clark, a graduate student from Fort Benton, earned her sixth-career All-America honor last indoor season when she took third in the heptathlon. The USTFCCCA's West Region Field Athlete of the Year, Clark was the co-field MVP at the Frontier Conference's inaugural indoor championship meet and crossed the unprecedented threshold of 200 career points at conference-championship meets in the process. She holds a 3.87 GPA in pursuit of a master's in materials science and engineering. Clark became the program's first-ever Academic All-American last year. 

Jany, a senior from Frederick, Colo., finished a career-best 85th at the NAIA cross country championships last fall, helping the Orediggers to a 23rd-place team finish. She was fifth at the Frontier cross country meet and also earned all-conference honors in the indoor 5,000-meter run. A mechanical engineering major, Jany graduated with a 3.69 GPA. 

Janzen, a sophomore from Silver Star, qualified for both the NAIA indoor and outdoor championship meets this past season. At indoor nationals in February, she was 12th in the triple jump and 26th in the long jump. Outdoors, she took 13th in the heptathlon in her first-ever season of combined-event competition. A business & information technology major, she sports a perfect 4.0 GPA. 

Johnson, a sophomore from Bigfork, ranked 17th in the Frontier in the 110m hurdles (16.44) and 19th in the 400m hurdles (1:03.42) this outdoor season. The electrical engineering major carries a 3.95 GPA. 

Lancini, a junior from Adro, Brescia, Italy, held the No. 7 indoor triple jump in the NAIA last season, a program-record 15.11m. He was the Frontier champion in the indoor triple jump and runner-up in the long jump. A four-time national qualifier and one-time All-American, Lancini has earned a 3.84 GPA in mechanical engineering. 

Moreni, a sophomore from Helena, represented Montana Tech at both the NAIA indoor and outdoor championship meets. At indoors, he and the Orediggers' 4x400m relay finished 26th. He then raced on Tech's 23rd-place 4x100m relay at the outdoor meet. Moreni won conference titles in the indoor 200m dash and outdoor 4x100m relay. An electrical engineering major, Moreni holds a 3.81 GPA. 

Morgan, a graduate student from Thompson Falls, landed his second-career NAIA All-America honor on the cross country course last fall with a 13th-place finish at the national meet. He became the first Oredigger in program history to win the Frontier's individual title as well. Morgan sports a 4.0 GPA in pursuit of a master's in electrical engineering. 

Opperman, a junior from Bozeman, earned her second-career trip to the NAIA outdoor championship meet in the javelin, where she finished 14th. She was the Frontier Conference's runner-up with a personal-best throw of 42.39m. A nursing major, Opperman holds a 3.9 GPA. 

Pesanti, a senior from Anaconda, ranked 18th in the Frontier in the 60m dash (8.19) in the indoor season and 25th in the outdoor 100m dash (12.92). She graduated this spring with a 3.87 GPA in biological sciences. 

Tobiness, a junior from Butte, ranked in the Frontier's top 10 in the indoor pole vault, triple jump, and heptathlon and outdoor triple jump and decathlon. He carries a 3.64 GPA in his mechanical engineering studies. 

Vermillion, a senior from Myrtle Creek, Ore., posted the top indoor long jump mark in the NAIA last season, a program-record 6.08m. She was third in the event at nationals for her second-career All-America honor. Vermillion also finished 18th in the event at NAIA outdoor nationals. A nursing student, she graduated with a 3.88 GPA. 

Zerr, a senior from Kailua, Hawaii, finished 159th at the NAIA cross country championships in his third-career nationals appearance. He was also runner-up in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the outdoor conference meet, earning his third-career all-conference nod on the track. A civil engineering student, Zerr graduated with a 3.96 GPA. 

Of the 12 honorees, nine Orediggers were advanced to the Academic All-America ballot: Clark, Jany, Janzen, Lancini, Moreni, Morgan, Opperman, Vermillion, and Zerr. 

A CSC committee chooses which Academic All-District student-athletes are advanced to the Academic All-America ballot. Those nominees are then voted upon by CSC membership for the national status. The Academic All-America teams will be announced Tuesday, July 14 for the men and Wednesday, July 15 for the women. 

Started in 1952, the CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.

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