GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Nine players from the CMU men's and women's soccer programs were recognized for their excellence on the field and in the classroom by being named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.
College Sports Communicators (CSC) is the organization formerly known as CoSIDA, which is made up of each institution and each conference's sports information directors. Under a restructuring of the nomination and selection process, all nominated student-athletes were named to the All-District team and submitted for Academic All-America selection.
To be nominated, student-athletes must have at least a 3.5 GPA, up from the 3.0 requirement of previous years, and must have played in over 50% of their team's matches. In addition, schools were limited to six nominations per gender.
Six women's team players achieved the honor, led by RMAC Academic Player of the Year
Lila Dere. The redshirt sophomore, who has also been named the RMAC Player of the Year and South Central Region Player of the Year, has a 3.74 GPA as a business and entrepreneurship major while leading the nation with 23 goals scored.
Fellow Grand Junction native and 2021 RMAC Academic Player of the Year
Michaela Dangler also appears on the team for the second time. Dangler, a graduating redshirt junior defender, has a perfect 4.0 GPA as an elementary education major while appearing in 17 games for the Mavs. Dangler becomes the first CMU soccer player to be a three-time Academic All-District selection.
Midfielder
Sophia Beames is the final holdover from the previous selection process to make it back on the All-District team. Beames, a redshirt sophomore from Albuquerque, N.M., has a 3.87 GPA as a biology major while racking up two goals and three assists in 19 games on the field.
Three other women's soccer players achieved Academic All-District status for the first time.
Mira Houck, a redshirt sophomore midfielder from Thornton, Colo., boasts a perfect 4.0 GPA as an elementary education major while operating as a key part of CMU's midfield, starting all 19 games and ranking third on the team with 1,451 minutes played.
Fresh off a D2CCA All-South Central Region first team selection,
Haley Klasner earned Academic All-District honors with her 3.81 GPA as a civil engineering major. Klasner, a redshirt sophomore midfielder from Broomfield, Colo., ranked in the top 10 in Division II with 11 assists, the third-highest single-season total in CMU history.
Rounding out the women's honorees is defender
Bobbie Golik. A defender from Northridge, Calif., Golik has a 3.97 GPA as a mechanical engineering major. Golik appeared in 17 games for CMU, starting 10, and recorded an assist on her senior night against New Mexico Highlands.
Three players on the men's team will be receiving Academic All-District recognition. Leading the way is
David Peters, a redshirt sophomore midfielder from Colorado Springs, Colo. who has a perfect 4.0 GPA as an exercise science major while appearing in 14 games for the Mavericks. In 2021, Peters won the RMAC Summit Award as the player with the highest GPA competing at the site of the conference finals.
Colton Shafer also earned Academic All-District honors for the men's team with a 3.63 GPA as a sports management major. A senior midfielder from Gilbert, Ariz., Shafer served as the Mavericks' captain and led the team with 1,272 minutes played. He scored three goals on the season, including two on his senior night against Colorado Christian.
Rounding out the men's honorees is midfielder
Diogo Silva. A sophomore from Araucaria Parana, Brazil, Silva has a 3.59 GPA as a business major. On the field, Silva tied for the team lead with four assists and appeared in every game, making 11 starts.
The Academic All-American teams will be released on Tuesday, December 6 for the women and Wednesday, December 7 for the men.
