La Crosse, Wis. - Five members of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's cross country and track & field teams have been named to the 2023 Academic All-District® Women's Cross Country and Track & Field Team, selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC), the organization announced Wednesday. Seniors
Skye Digman of
Platteville (H.S.) and
Emma Lawrence of
Benton (Benton-Sclaes-Mound-Shullsburg), juniors
Maddie Hannan of
Minneapolis, Minn. (Southwest) and
Maddy Vantassel of
Appleton (West) and sophomore
Charlotte Mueller of
Clinton (H.S.) all earned accolades.
Digman is a mathematics major with a 3.73 cumulative grade point average while being a member of UWL's Dean's List seven semesters. She was named to the 2022 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® Third Team. Digman was a 2020 and 2022 CoSIDA Academic All-District® First Team selection. She has volunteered for WAFER, the Hixon Trails and various track & field meets. Digman is a member of UWL Book Club.
She earned three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III All-America honors at this year's outdoor championships, including taking the shot put title. Digman also placed third in the discus throw and seventh in the hammer throw. She recorded nine career outdoor All-America awards. She captured the discus throw title in 2022. Digman also earned four career indoor All-America honors, including winning the shot put in 2022 and weight throw in 2023.
Named the 2023 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) North Region Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, Digman swept the hammer throw, shot put and discus throw at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships. She is the second athlete in WIAC history to sweep the hammer throw, shot put and discus throw at the league championships. At the conclusion of the WIAC Championships, Digman was named the Kwik Trip Field Performer of the Meet.
It marked Digman's second straight year being named the WIAC Field Performer of the Meet. She was also selected the 2020 and 2023 WIAC Indoor Field Performer of the Meet. Digman holds UWL's indoor records in the shot put and weight throw and outdoor records in the shot put and hammer throw. Digman is a three-year team captain.
Lawrence was named the recipient of the 2023 WIAC Judy Kruckman Women's Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete Award. She possesses a 3.79 grade point average and is majoring in biology with a biomedical sciences emphasis and minoring in chemistry and nutrition. She is a two-time member of CoSIDA Academic All-District® Six Team, and a four-time selection to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. Lawrence is a four-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and earned a spot on UWL's Dean's List numerous semesters. She has been the recipient of academic scholarships from her institution. Lawrence has served as a campus captain for The Hidden Opponent and volunteered for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Track & Field Championships, a food pantry, a trail run and adapted volleyball. She has worked as a Club Volleyball Coach, Patient Care Assistant at Mayo Clinic, Chiropractic Assistant and Building Manager at UWL's Student Union.
A team captain, Lawrence earned four All-America honors at the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. She placed third in the 400-meter hurdles and seventh in the 100-meter hurdles while being on UWL's third-place 4x100-meter relay and fourth-place 4x400-meter relay. Lawrence ends her career with 11 NCAA III Outdoor All-America honors. Along with the four this year, Lawrence earned four in 2022 and three in 2021. She placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles in 2021 and 2021 and finished third in the 100-meter hurdles in 2021 and sixth in 2022. Lawrence was a member of the Eagles' fifth-place 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays a year ago and the fourth-place 4x400-meter relay in 2021. She earned five career NCAA III Indoor All-America awards, finishing second in the 200-meter dash and third in the 60-meter hurdles in 2023.
Lawrence won the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles for the third consecutive season at the WIAC Outdoor Championships. She was also a member of the triumphant 4x100-meter relay team and established a conference championship record of 13.51 seconds in the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles. Lawrence was selected the Performer of the Meet at the 2021 conference meet. She was named the 2023 WIAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet after winning the 60-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash and placing second in the 60-meter dash.
Hannan, an exercise sport science major and 3.69 grade point average, earned All-America honors at the 2023 NCAA III Outdoor Championships after finishing second in the 800-meter run. It was her first career outdoor All-America honor. She also finished 19th in the 5,000-meter run at the championships. Hannan set a school record in the indoor 800-meter run placing seventh at the 2023 NCAA III Championships to earn All-America honors. She was also 17th in the 3,000-meter run.
She won the 1,500-meter run and finished second in the 800-meter run at the 2023 WIAC Outdoor Championships after winning the 800-meter run at the indoor conference championships. Hannan holds the school record in the indoor 1,000 and 3,000-meter run and mile as well as the distance medley relay. She also holds the outdoor 800-meter run record.
Hannan was named the 2022 WIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year. She is the fourth runner in school history to be named the WIAC Athlete of the Year. Hannan earned 2022 NCAA Division III All-America honors with a 20th-place finish at the championships. She finished fourth at the NCAA III North Regional to earn all-region honors. Hannan captured the individual title at the WIAC Championships, becoming the eighth runner in school history to win the league crown. She was second at the UWL Tori Neubauer Invitational while also finishing seventh at the Concordia University Wisconsin Invitational, eighth at the Olivet College (Mich.) National Preview Meet and 15th at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational. Hannan was selected the WIAC Kwik Trip Athlete of the Week after her finish at the Griak Invitational.
A public health and community health education and Spanish major with a 3.98 cumulative grade point average, Vantassel is an eight-time member of UWL's Dean's List. She recipient of the Soaring Eagle Scholarship and earned the Dr. Peg Van Bree Scholarship for Women Leaders in Community Health Education three times. Vantassel is a three-year member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. She has volunteered for La Crosse Rotary Lights, Hixon Forest Preservation and Restoration Project and high school and college track meets. She presented a health education lesson plan for elementary school students. An executive member of the Eta Sigma Gamma-Beta Phi Chapter, Vantassel has been the service chair for five semesters and will be the president next fall.
Vantassel finished 12th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2023 NCAA III Championships after placing second in the event at the WIAC Championships. She was second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and fourth in the 5,000-meter run in 2022. Vantassel won the 5,000-meter run crown at this year's indoor conference championships.
UWL's cross country team captain, Vantassel earned 2022 All-WIAC accolades with a sixth-place individual finish. She also earned NCAA Division III All-Region honors after placing 21st overall. Vantassel also competed at the 2022 NCAA III Championships. She earned 2019 (11th-place) and 2021 (13th-place) All-WIAC Second Team honors. Vantassel also ran at the 2021 national cross country championships. She was sixth at the 2022 Tori Neubauer Invitational, ninth at the Concordia Wisconsin Invitational, 17th at the National Preview Meet and 18th at the University of Minnesota Griak Invitational.
Mueller is a biology major and nutrition minor with a 4.00 grade point average. She is accepted into physician assistant school at Des Moines University. Mueller has been on UWL's Dean's List every semester and was named the 2023 Outstanding Senior of the Year Award in Biology. Mueller has volunteered with St. Clare's Health Mission as well as the Kane Street Gardens, Hixon Trail cleanup and local blood drive. She is a member of the pre-PA club at UWL and worked as a CNA at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse.
She placed eighth in the 10,000-meter run and 16th in the 5,000-meter run at the 2023 WIAC Outdoor Championships after finishing 14th in the 3,000-meter run indoors. Mueller was eighth in the 10,000-meter run and 12th in the 5,000-meter run at the 2022 outdoor league championships and 11th in the 10,000-meter run in 2021.
As a member of the UWL cross country team, Mueller earned 2022 All-WIAC Honorable Mention honors with a 16th-place finish. She was 47th at the NCAA Division III Regional and ran at the NCAA III Championships. Meuller was also 16th in the Concordia Wisconsin Invitational, 29th at the Tori Neubauer Invitational and 72nd at the Minnesota Griak Invitational.
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.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Divisions II and III Academic All- America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA national office.
To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at her current institution.
