Three Hilltoppers Named to CUSA All-Academic Team

DALLAS – Three athletes from the WKU Track and Field team have been named to the Conference USA All-Academic team, the league office announced Friday afternoon.

Caleb Joyce and Connor Owens were named to the men's team while Rachel Payne was named to the women's team. Each team consists of 11 athletes from across the league that dignify stellar performance in the classroom and in competition.

Joyce, a sophomore Biochemistry major from Paducah, Ky. competed in 12 meets for the Hilltoppers this season. Competing in the pole vault and long jump, he set a PR in the pole vault at the Bulldog Invite (15-03.75). At the CUSA Indoor Championships he competed in the pole vault, taking 11th place. In the outdoor season Joyce set a PR in the long jump at the Brent Chumbley Memorial Hilltopper Relays (20-04.25). Throughout the course of the season, Joyce finished within the top-five in five meets.

Owens, a sophomore criminology major, competed in all 13 meets for WKU throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons. He competed in the discus, shot put, and weight throw. During the indoor season he set a PR in the weight throw at the Bulldog Invite (59-05), taking second place in the event while also competing at the CUSA Indoor Championships. Owens set a PR in the discus at the Tennessee Invite (159-00), good for eighth place. He also managed a personal best in the hammer throw at the Jim Green Invitational (145-01). He competed in the discus and hammer throw at the CUSA Outdoor Championships. Owens is a 2024 and 2025 CUSA Commissioner's Medal recipient as well as a 2023 and 2024 WKU President's List recipient.

Payne, a senior architectural sciences major from Maysville, Ky. competed for the Tops in 10 meets this season as a multi athlete. During the indoor campaign, Payne competed at the CUSA Championships in the pentathlon and set a PR in the long jump at the Bellarmine Classic (17-05.5). She set a PR in the heptathlon at the CUSA Outdoor Championships (4,585 points), earning a fifth place finish. Payne also managed a personal best in the shot put at the Margaret Simmons Invite (30-11.75). In total, Payne finished within the top-10 on 12 occasions throughout the year. She is a 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 CUSA Commissioner's Medal recipient and has been named to the WKU President's list all four years.

FOLLOW THE TOPS: For complete information on WKU XC and T&F, follow the team on Twitter at WKUXCTF. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.

2025 Conference USA Men's Track and Field All-Academic Team
Alex Gabossy FIU 3.93 International Business
Christian Hicks Liberty 3.56 MBA
Kellen Kimes Liberty 4.00 Biomedical Sciences
William Estes LA Tech 3.91 Political Science/Spanish/Sociology
Abdulraof Rashid LA Tech 3.80 Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Tim Rummelhagen LA Tech 3.75 Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Joel Iheakolam MTSU 3.76 Public Health
Juan Lucas MTSU 3.90 Aerospace
Joshua Hill UTEP 4.00 Kinesiology
Caleb Joyce WKU 3.87 Biochemistry
Connor Owens WKU 3.93 Criminology

2025 Conference USA Women's Track and Field All-Academic Team
Cayla Johnson Jax State 4.00 Social Work
Kayley Stanley Jax State 4.00 MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Meredith Engle Liberty 4.00 MS Cyber Security
Jessica Palisca Liberty 4.00 Interdisciplinary Studies/Chemistry/Biology
Katrina Schlenker Liberty 3.92 Aeronautics
Nia Wiley LA Tech 3.96 Biology
Hailee Gorham MTSU 4.00 Aerospace
Bailey Bowles NM State 4.00 Communication Disorders
Angela Korte NM State 3.92 Biology
Vallary Kiplagat UTEP 3.93 Biomedical Science
Rachel Payne WKU 4.00 Architectural Science

Players Mentioned

Caleb Joyce

Connor Owens

Rachel Payne

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