Six Yellowjackets from the University of Rochester men's track & field and cross country program: graduate student James Catania, seniors Aadit Jain and Jack Maness, and sophomores Jacob Bernd, Greg Palma and Liam Sakakeeny were selected to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Men's Track & Field and Cross Country Academic All-District Team, as announced by the CSC on Tuesday.
 
The 2025-26 CSC Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Track & Field and Cross Country Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, and rank in the Top 50 in the region in a single, individual event on the TFRRS performance lists, or have had a Top-50 individual performance at a 2025 NCAA Cross Country Regional.
 
Catania was one of Rochester's three NCAA qualifiers this season, qualifying for and competing at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. At the NCAA Niagara Regional, Catania netted United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region honors with a 12th-place finish, one of three top-100 results on the year for the graduate student. The Saranac, NY native was also Rochester's top finisher at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships, placing 21st.
 
A computer science major, Catania is a four-time UAA and Liberty League All-Academic honoree and a one-time USTFCCCA All-Academic selection. The graduate student scored his second-straight Academic All-District honor and recently started a full-time position at Leidos in software development in Minneapolis, MN. As an undergraduate, Catania received the Xerox Award for innovation and information technology, was a workshop leader for several computer science classes on campus, and did mathematics research with Professor Mkrtchya.
 
Competing in the horizontal and vertical jumps, as well as URochester's 4x100-meter relay, Jain was a four-time All-Liberty League honoree this season, earning First-Team and Honorable Mention accolades in the long jump and high jump, respectively, indoors, as well as First and Second-Team selections in the high jump and 4x100m relay outdoors. The Gurgaon, India native was also a three-time USTFCCCA All-Region selection, a one-time Liberty League Field Performer of the Week, and helped the 'Jackets' 4x100-meter relay break the school record with their 41.84-second time at the All-Atlantic Region Outdoor Track & Field Championships in May.
 
Jain is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection and a member of the Dean's List. A double major in physics and honors mathematics, Jain was a member of Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society on campus, and worked in the Bigelow Cooling and Trapping group under Professor Nicholas Bigelow in the physics department. The senior also did math research for a senior thesis in lost signal recovery with Professor Alex Iosevich, and will attend a master's program next year, studying theoretical physics. Back in India, Jain also worked with the Tamana Foundation to teach kids with mental disabilities sports.
 
Maness earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the decathlon this season, hitting his top mark at the AARTFCs this past spring. The senior multi-athlete scored in both the heptathlon at the Liberty League Indoor Track & Field Championships and in the decathlon at the Liberty League Outdoor Championships, placing seventh indoors and sixth outdoors. Indoors, Maness also set four new personal bests in the heptathlon, 1,000 meters, 60-meter hurdles and shot put, as well as outdoors in the decathlon, pole vault, discus, 110-meter hurdles and high jump. At regionals, Maness won both the decathlon discus throw and pole vault and added another top-three result in the pole vault at the outdoor conference championships.
 
Off the track, Maness, an optical engineering major, is a two-time Liberty League All-Academic Team member. On campus, Maness was a member of Optica and previously was a workshop leader for OPT 241. This summer, the Pittsford, NY native will be starting a full-time job with L3Harris after previously interning with Bausch & Lomb each of the past two summers as an Optical Metrology Intern and an Optical Research Intern.
 
Bernd competed in four cross country meets this season for URochester, tallying a pair of top-30 finishes. The sophomore notched his best finish, 29th, to open the year at the Tom Balon Alumni Classic, and added another top-30 result, 30th, at the Kara Hall Memorial Invite. On the track, Bernd competed in the middle-distance events for the Yellowjackets, ranking in the top-25 regionally in the 800 meters and mile indoors, as well as in the top-35 outdoors in the 800 and 1,500 meters.
 
The mechanical engineering major scored in both the 800 meters and mile and the Liberty League Indoor Track & Field Championships, and wrapped up the indoor season with a new personal-best time in the mile (4:15.88) at the AARTFCs in March. Then in the outdoor season, Bernd competed in both the 800 and 1,500 meters at the conference championships, and was recognized for his efforts in the classroom with both UAA and Liberty League All-Academic honors.
 
Palma earned Second-Team All-Liberty League honors indoors in the 4x400-meter relay, scoring for the Yellowjackets at the indoor championships in both the 4x400 relay and 200 meters. Palma competed both indoors and outdoors for URochester in the sprints, setting new PRs indoors in both the 200 and 400 meters. Outdoors, the sophomore also ran in the 400-meter hurdles, again scoring for the 'Jackets at the Liberty League Outdoor Championships.
 
Double-majoring in finance and data science with a cluster in Christianity, Palma received both CSC Academic All-District and Liberty League All-Academic honors this season, and is a member of Alpha Kappa Psi. The sophomore has received both the Dean's Scholarship and RIG Grant, TAed for FIN 205, and is currently interning for Citizens Private Bank in New York City. Previously, Palma also worked with a local financial advisor in Denville, NJ, and has done volunteer work with Alpha Kappa Psi, including with the House of Mercy homeless shelter.
 
Sakakeeny was Rochester's top finisher at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships this past fall, placing 227th and earning USTFCCCA All-Region honors for his performance at the NCAA Niagara Regional. One of two runners to compete in all seven meets, Sakakeeny notched six top-50 results and defeated a team-high 77.45 percent of opposing runners during the cross country season. Then on the track, Sakakeeny netted both Honorable Mention All-Liberty League and USTFCCCA All-Region accolades as part of URochester's Distance Medley Relay indoors, competing in the mile and 3,000 meters indoors, and 1,500 and 5,000 meters outdoors, setting new PRs in the mile, 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters this season.
 
Off the track, Sakakeeny earned both Liberty League and UAA All-Academic honors and secured USTFCCCA All-Academic recognition two years in a row, as well, for his performance in cross country. The Newton, MA native, is majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in environmental science: sustainability and is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This summer, Sakakeeny is working as a Project Engineering Intern for Turner Construction in Boston, MA, and also volunteering for Green Newton, a local environmental activist organization in his hometown.
 
Academic All-District selections will be evaluated by a sub-committee and advanced to the national, All-America ballot, to be voted on by CSC members within their respective divisions.
 
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes men's and women's track & field and cross country honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.