NDSU student-athletes Shelby Gunnells and Paige Harris have been named to the Academic All-District 6 team for Division I women’s track and field and cross country, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced May 29.

Gunnells, who is from Solon, Iowa, has a 4.0 cumulative GPA as a geology major. She was named the 2020 Summit League Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, winning the conference title in the shot put and taking third place in the weight throw. Gunnells was an NCAA Indoor Championships qualifier in the shot put, ranked eighth in the NCAA.

This is the second consecutive Academic All-District selection for Gunnells, who was named a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American last year.

Harris, who is from Plentywood, Montana, is a biological sciences major with a 4.0 cumulative GPA. She won the 2019 Summit League title in the 400-meter hurdles, and finished fourth at the Summit League Indoor Championships in the 400-meter dash the past two seasons.

As All-District honorees, Gunnells and Harris will advance to the national ballot for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, to be announced in late June.

District 6 is comprised of student-athletes from Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The Bison women’s track and field team set an all-time program record with a 3.70 team grade point average for the spring 2020 semester. A total of 34 members of the team recorded a perfect 4.0 for the semester.

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