BOONE, N.C. – App State Athletics had 194 student-athletes honored as the Sun Belt Conference recognized recipients of the 1A FAR Academic Excellence Award as well as members of the Commissioner's List and Academic Honor Roll for the 2025-26 academic year.
App State Women's Cross Country led the Sun Belt's 13 programs in that sport with a 3.76 GPA and did so while repeating as the league champion at the conference meet in late October.
The 1A FAR Academic Excellence Award recognizes student-athletes at FBS football-sponsoring institutions who earned their undergraduate degrees and compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.8 or better upon graduation. In addition, the student-athletes must have participated in at least two years of NCAA intercollegiate athletics at an FBS institution. App State's 12 honorees in that category were:
Sarah Callery, Field Hockey
Samantha Connors, Field Hockey
James Gradisek, Men's Golf
Emily Hege, Women's Basketball
Addison Heidemann, Volleyball
Martha Henkel, Softball
Sarah Perkins, Field Hockey
Maddie Quinn, Women's Cross Country
Kate Richardson, Field Hockey
Isabela Romanichen, Tennis
Emma Smith, Women's Basketball
Shannon Studer, Soccer
App State had 120 members of the Commissioner's List, which honors student-athletes who earned a 3.5 GPA or better during the 2025-26 academic year. There were 62 Mountaineers on the Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes who maintained a GPA between 3.00 and 3.49 for the academic year.
App State student-athletes from Field Hockey (MAC) and Wrestling (SoCon) were not included in the Sun Belt lists for the Commissioner's List or Academic Honor Roll.
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