University of Rochester women's track and field seniors Susan Bansbach, Madeline O'Connell and Gillian Reeder, junior Kate Isaac and sophomore Megan Bell were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Women's Cross Country and Track & Field Team, as announced by CSC on Wednesday.
 
The 2023 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track & Field Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the track and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes cross country and track & field honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
The most decorated athlete in Rochester track & field program history, Bansbach is an 11-time All-American, including five as an individual, a 14-time NCAA qualifier, a 19-time United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region selection and a 2022-23 NCAA Division III National Champion in the Indoor 4x400 meter relay. This season, Bansbach secured All-America honors in the 400m at both the indoor and outdoor track & field national championships, as well as the 4x400 relay, helping UR win the indoor national championship with a school-record time of 3:44.84 and finish runner-up at the outdoor championships with another school-record time of 3:41.17.
 
Over four seasons with the Yellowjackets, Bansbach is a 19-time All-Liberty League honoree, a 15-time Liberty League champion, a two-time conference Track Athlete of the Year, the 2020 conference Rookie of the Year and the 2023 Niagara Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. The Fayetteville, NY also holds six school records and five conference records and was awarded both the Sylvia Fabricant Award in 2021-22 and the Merle Spurrier Award in 2022-23, as well as Garnish Scholar-Athlete honors in 2022.
 
Off the track, Bansbach, a double major in international relations and Russian studies, is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection, a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree and a 2022 CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. In addition to four years of track & field, Bansbach also played two years of field hockey at UR and volunteers both with the DeWitt Rotary Club and the Central NY Triathlon.
 
Another member of Rochester's 2023 Indoor National Champion 4x400 relay, O'Connell is a five-time All-American and a 12-time NCAA qualifier, having competed in both the 4x400 relay and 400m at both championships this year, as well as the pole vault and 4x100 relay at the outdoor championships. And after helping UR to a national title in the indoor 4x400, O'Connell ran the opening leg of the outdoor 4x400 final, helping the 'Jackets' relay shatter another school record in a runner-up finish.
 
Overall, O'Connell is a 15-time USTFCCCA All-Region selection, a 15-time All-Liberty League honoree, a five-time conference champ and earned conference performer of the week nine times this season, helping the Yellowjacket women to both indoor and outdoor conference titles. O'Connell was also named the 2021 Liberty League Outdoor Rooke of the Year and garnered USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week honor the week of April 12, 2022.
 
A Neuroscience major with a minor in psychology, O'Connell also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 2021 and is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection, as well as a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic team member. Away from the track, O'Connell is a member of the Psi Chi Honor Society and works as a research assistant in the Wojtovich Lab at URMC, an Emergency Medical Technician and volunteers as a ski patroller.
 
A three-time USTFCCCA All-Region selection, Reeder was a two-time Liberty League Champion, winning the indoor weight throw during the 2022-23 indoor campaign, as well as the hammer throw at the 2023 outdoor championships. A two-year team captain, Reeder finished in the top eight 12 different times at the Liberty League Championships over four years, earning three All-Liberty League honors, while also playing four seasons of volleyball for the 'Jackets.
 
This season, Reeder, who qualified for the AARTFC Championships 10 times, scoring twice, earned a Top-50 ranking (No. 44) in the indoor weight throw, with a throw of 16.11m. Away from the playing surface, Reeder is a two-time Liberty League All-Academic selection and a three-time member of the UAA All-Academic team.
 
Reeder majored in cell and developmental biology with a minor in music and plans on attending Boston University to become a dentist after graduating from UR. The senior spent the past summer shadowing as a dental assistant, is a member of Rochester's VSAAC, helping organize blood drives and other fundraising opportunities, and volunteered at numerous volleyball clinics while at UR.
 
Isaac ran the second leg of UR's 2022-23 Indoor National Champion 4x400 relay, helping the 'Jackets set an indoor record time of 3:44.84 and claim the title. A three-time NCAA qualifier, a 2023 Indoor National Champion and Indoor and Outdoor All-American in the 4x400, Isaac holds a pair of Rochester and Liberty League records and helped the Yellowjackets' relay qualify for the outdoor 4x400 final, running the first leg in the prelims en route to another All-America honor.
 
The Fairport, NY native is a five-time USTFCCCA All-Region selection, a nine-time All-Liberty League honoree, a 13-time conference scorer, helping the 'Jackets to three-straight conference titles over the past two years, a three-time Liberty League champion, a two-time Liberty League All-Academic selection and a two-time Liberty League Track Performer of the Week
 
Off the track, Isaac, a biomedical engineering major, is a member of the BME Honors Society, Alpha Eta Mu Beat, and the Keidaeans Senior Honor Society, received the George Eastman Young Leaders Scholarship and worked in the Haber Lab at URMC.
 
A two-time All-American, Bell ran the third leg of UR's 2022-23 Indoor National Champions and DIII-record 4x400m relay and then the second-leg of Rochester's runner-up and school-record outdoor 4x400 relay, capping off a tremendous sophomore campaign for the Wynantskill, NY native. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Bell also qualified for the outdoor 400m this season as the No. 17-seed and earned six USTFCCCA All-Region honors this season, two during the indoor campaign and three outdoors.
 
Bell also helped the Yellowjackets to a conference sweep, as UR won its second-straight Liberty League outdoor title after winning the indoor title to finish off a conference sweep. Bell earned seven All-Liberty League honors with Top-3 finishes, as well as five conference titles, and finished in the top three five times at the AARTFC regional meets.
 
A biomedical engineering major, Bell earned Liberty League All-Academic honors this season and TAed for Physics 113 this spring. The sophomore has also earned numerous scholarships and academic awards, including the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award, and will be participating in a research experience for undergrads this summer funded by the National Science Foundation at Cleveland State University. While last summer, Bell interned at the Center for Disability Services Health Innovation, Incubator and Technology Center, working on creating medical devices for those served by the center.
 
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes men's and women's cross country and track & field honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.