A total of six individuals representing the University of Rochester women's cross country and track & field programs were honored on Tuesday as Academic All-District® selections, as announced by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
 
URochester's individual honorees in 2025-26 are graduate student Molly FitzGibbons, senior Alyssa Horng and juniors Raquella Casserino, Nora Chen, Eva Ciuffetelli and Madison Vargas.
 
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.
 
FitzGibbons completed her track & field eligibility this season with the Yellowjackets as a graduate student after spending her undergraduate years as a member of the Williams track & field team. This season with Rochester, FitzGibbons finished 9th at the NCAA Division III Championships in the steeplechase, securing Second Team All-America honors. The graduate student set a new URochester school record at that meet, running 10:30.06 during the preliminary heats. FitzGibbons was a six-time All-Region honoree (3 indoor, 3 outdoor) in 2025-26.
 
Additionally, her efforts for the Yellowjackets this season included wins at both the indoor (mile) and outdoor (5000 meters) AARTFC regional meets, with the graduate student also securing several All-Liberty League awards based on top-3 finishes at the conference meet both indoors and outdoors. She was a Liberty League champion in the steeplechase outdoors and chipped in a runner-up finish in the 1500 meters. Academically, she was part of URochester's contingent on the Liberty League All-Academic team this spring and has earned seven USTFCCCA All-Academic honors throughout her career. On the River Campus, she is working towards her doctorate in Mathematics.
 
Horng was one of URochester's top distance runners, both in cross country during the fall and in both track and field seasons in the second semester. The senior earned cross country All-Region honors by virtue of a 33rd place result at the NCAA Niagara Regional, posting a 6k personal-best time of 23:01.0. On the track, she scored for the Yellowjackets at the outdoor AARTFC meet in the 10000 meters and finished tenth in the 5K indoors. Horng ranked regionally in the top-30 during the 3000 and 5000 meters indoors and in the 5K and 10K outdoors, peaking at #11 in the Niagara region during the 10000 meters.
 
The senior was highly decorated academically as well during her time with the Yellowjackets, receiving three UAA All-Academic and three Liberty League All-Academic awards. She also received USTFCCCA All-Academic honors. On the River Campus, Horng was elected Phi Beta Kappa and named a Provost Circle Scholar along with receiving the Terrence L. Gurnett Female Scholar-Athlete Award. She has completed research in the Lalor Lab at the UR Medical Center and with Dr. Jennie Noll at the Mt. Hope Family Center and will continue her education at Stanford University, pursuing a PhD in Environmental Social Sciences.
 
Casserino had a solid season for the Yellowjackets in the sprint events, earning two indoor All-Liberty League honors and two more outdoors. The junior received two All-Region accolades from the USTFCCCA for her efforts on URochester's 4x400 meter relay squads, with that team qualifying for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships during the spring. Casserino ended with three All-Region awards outdoors, coming in the 400 meters, 4x100 meter relay and 4x400 meter relay. Spanning the indoor and outdoor seasons, Casserino was on four relays that ranked in the top-30 on the Division III performance lists, and had 17 top-3 results, including eight victories.
 
In the classroom, Casserino is working toward her degree in Psychology and American Sign Language. She has received several scholarships, including the Kearns Summer Scholar Award, Study Abroad Scholarship and IWCC Dante Scholarship in 2026. She has completed research with Karl Rosengren in the Cognitive Devolopment Lab on campus and has been a multiple Dean's List honoree. Casserino is a Liberty League All-Academic honoree and has previously been honored with USTFCCCA All-Academic awards. She volunteered at Strong Memorial Hospital in the past and over the past year has been tutoring deaf students at the Rochester School for the Deaf.
 
Chen's junior season was one to remember, as the sprinter and hurdler for URochester secured Niagara Region Track Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season. The junior was a First Team All-American in the 400 meter hurdles outdoors and secured a pair of All-America honors indoors, coming in the 400 meters and 60 meter hurdles. Additionally, she was a 6-time All-Region performer during the outdoor season and earned 5 All-Region accolades for the indoor campaign. In 2026, Chen established new school records in the 60 meter hurdles (indoors) and 400 meter hurdles outdoors. She was a 7-time All-Liberty League performer overall, five of which were on the first team after that many winning conference titles in 2025-26.
 
Academically, Chen is studying Psychology and Brain & Cognitive Sciences at the University. She is a member of Psi Chi (International Psychology Honor Society) and has worked in the Cognitive Development Lab with Dr. Karl Rosengren. Chen was picked as the UR Athletic Department Sylvia Fabricant Award winner this spring and has received multiple Liberty League All-Academic honors throughout her career. Chen also was a Provost Circle Scholar, member of the Keidean Senior Honor Society at URochester and received College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors in 2025.
 
Ciuffetelli was another Yellowjacket to earn All-America honors in 2025-26, securing First Team honors indoors during the 800 meters. The junior placed 8th indoors at the NCAA Division III Championships. Additionally, Ciuffetelli secured two All-Region and three All-League awards for the indoor season. Shifting to outdoors, the junior ran on UR's 4x400 meter relay that qualified for the NCAA Championships and placed 14th, while also piling up three All-Region accolades and two All-Liberty League honors. Overall across the winter and spring seasons, Ciuffietelli had 14 total wins, including three at the Liberty League Championships and one at the AARTFC Championships.
 
A repeat CSC Academic All-District honoree, Ciuffetelli also earned her second straight Liberty League All-Academic award this season in 2026. She is majoring in Chemical Engineering at the University and is a Goldwater and Sustainability Scholar on the River Campus. She is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Sustainability through Engineering and American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The junior has done research at the University with Dr. Marc Porosoff and with Dr. Matthew Sharpe at the Laser Lab.
 
Vargas had a breakout season in the throwing events for the Yellowjackets, securing seven podium (top-8) finishes at the Liberty League and AARTFC Championships, spanning the indoor and outdoor seasons. Indoors, the junior was runner-up at the conference championship in the weight throw and established a personal-best shot put mark of 12.46 meters in a fourth place finish. Outdoors, she piled up five individual wins, finished top-6 in the discus (3rd), shot put (5th) and hammer throw (6th) at the Liberty League meet and scored two top-8 results at regionals, ending third in the discus and eighth in the hammer. She now ranks second all-time in school history in the discus, posting a career-best mark of 44.76 meters. Vargas finished the season ranked in the top-40 in Division III in the discus and hammer outdoors and the weight throw indoors, translating to All-Region honors in all three of those events.
 
Outside of track and field, Vargas is working towards her degree in Brain & Cognitive Sciences and American Sign Language at URochester. She also has done research with Karl Rosengren in the Cognitive Development Lab on the River Campus and has received the Joseph C. Wilson Leader of Change Scholarship. A Dean's List honoree, Vargas is also a two-time Liberty League All-Academic selection and has been a part of the executive board of the ASL Club for the past year.
 
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.