Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Academic All-America Teams

GOLDEN, Colo. - Led by Academic All-American of the Year Zoe Baker, four Colorado School of Mines women's cross country/track & field student-athletes have been named Academic All-America by the College Sports Communicators organization.

Baker, Margaux Basart, and Hannah Miller all earned First-Team Academic All-America honors, and Molly Maksin appeared on the second team. Baker was selected as the top overall student-athlete in NCAA Division II women's track & field for a historic third consecutive year, making her the first three-time recipient of the award in any sport in D-II history.

Baker concludes her career as a five-time Academic All-American, including four first-team selections, both of which are the most in Mines Athletics history. A 15-time all-American, Baker finished fourth in the outdoor 10,000m to stand on the podium and was ninth in the 5,000m, and was an NCAA Indoors qualifier in the 3K and 5K, finishing 14th and 13th. The NCAA Elite 90 Award winner indoors, Baker won the RMAC title in the indoor 5K and medaled in the indoor 3K and outdoor 10K. Baker holds bachelor's degrees in computer science and applied mathematics, and is working on a master's degree in computer science.

Basart, a first-time honoree, was the RMAC Academic Runner of the Year in cross country and First-Team Academic All-RMAC in all three seasons. Basart was a USTFCCCA Second-Team All-American in the indoor 3,000m, finishing 10th, and the outdoor steeplechase, finishing ninth. An academic junior, Basart majors in engineering physics.

Miller, now just the third four-time Academic All-American in Mines history, closed out her decorated career as the RMAC's greatest women's pole vaulter, setting the conference record of 4.30m while earning a pair of national podiums pots. Indoors, the RMAC champion was the national runner-up, and outdoors, she finished fourth at NCAA Outdoors while earning the RMAC silver medal. Miller earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in quantitative biosciences & engineering. 

Maksin, a Third-Team Academic All-American a year ago, was a three-season all-American in 2023-24 starting in the fall, when she finished 35th nationally at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. She continued the success indoors with the RMAC silver medal in the 3K and then a sixth-place NCAA 5K finish; outdoors, she was the ninth-place 10K finisher. Maksin has a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering and received a master's in advanced energy systems in May. 

Academic All-America honorees hold at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA, and have distinguished themselves with outstanding performances in their sport, with the cross country and track & field seasons combined into a single award. Nominees are voted on by the nation's sports information directors. Since 1994, Mines cross country/track & field has had 58 Academic All-Americans. The 2023-24 men's teams will be announced July 10.