Academic All-America Team Announcement
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University distance runners Anna Igims and Jennifer Cichra were named to the 2024-25 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America team when the women's track & field and cross country honors were announced Tuesday.
 
Igims was named as a first team Academic All-American and becomes a two-time honoree after also being named to second team honors in 2024. Cichra was named to third team honors to give The Rock two honorees on a very select list that includes just 45 total women from Division II.
 
The Academic All-America teams are nominated for and voted on by the athletic communication professionals at each college throughout the nation. In order to be eligible, student-athletes must be at least sophomores in athletic and academic standing, must maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, must rank in the top 50 in the region in their respective event and should have significant athletic credentials, such as All-Conference or All-Region recognition. Performances from cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field are all considered.
 
Igims and Cichra both competed in all three seasons for The Rock this year, helping lead SRU to a PSAC sweep with conference titles in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field. They were both recognized numerous times throughout the year for their athletic and academic achievements.
 
The two women's track & field selections to the Academic All-America team give The Rock a total of 11 Academic All-Americans so far in 2024-25, tying the most in a single year in SRU history. The men's track & field and cross country Academic All-America teams will be announced Thursday. SRU now has 148 all-time honorees for the Academic All-America program since its inception in 1970, a number that ranks first among all NCAA Division II schools in the Atlantic Region and ranks in the top 10 nationally among all NCAA Division II schools.
 
A brief look at the athletic and academic accomplishments of the two SRU Academic All-America honorees can be found below.
 
ANNA IGIMS
Academics: One of the most decorated student-athletes in the country, Igims graduated in 2024 with a 3.98 GPA and a degree in school wellness education with a minor in public health. She completed a full year of graduate work in 2024-25 with a perfect 4.0 GPA in the applied behavioral analysis program before being named the 2024-25 PSAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A two-time Academic All-America honoree, Igims is now a three-time Academic All-District honoree, a six-time USTFCCA All-Academic selection, a five-time PSAC Top 10 honoree, a five-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and a five-time D2ADA Academic Achievement honoree. She was also the lone female student-athlete in the PSAC to earn the Division II 50th Anniversary Scholarship in 2024 and recently earned a $10,000 postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA to complete her graduate degree.
 
Athletics: Igims was unbeatable in the PSAC in 2024-25. She won seven PSAC individual titles and led Slippery Rock to team titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. She opened the year by winning the PSAC and Atlantic Region titles in cross country, becoming the first SRU female distance runner to ever accomplish that feat. She followed that up by earning All-America honors at the National Championships in the fall, becoming the first SRU female cross country All-American since 2010. She was named the PSAC and Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year in the fall. Igims then won three PSAC titles at the indoor conference meet, taking the crown in the distance medley relay, the mile and the 3,000-meter run. She earned All-Region honors with the fastest time in the region in four different events and placed 17th in the 5,000-meter run at the National Championships before being named the PSAC and Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year. Igims closed her year with a stellar spring, winning PSAC titles in the 1,500-meter run, 5,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter steeplechase on the way to being named the Most Outstanding Track Athlete and the Overall MVP at the PSAC Championships. She broke the SRU record in the steeplechase twice during the year (10:17) and earned first team All-America honors with a seventh place finish at the National Championships. She was named the PSAC Track Athlete of the Year to complete a year-long sweep with three PSAC Athlete of the Year awards. Igims departs Slippery Rock with school records in the indoor mile (4:55), outdoor 5K (16:38) and steeplechase (10:17). She is a three-time All-American, a 14-time PSAC champion, a six-time PSAC Athlete of the Year, a three-time Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year, a 21-time All-PSAC honoree and a 21-time All-Region selection.
 
JENNIFER CICHRA
Academics: One of the top overall students on the SRU campus, Cichra owns a perfect 4.0 GPA with 150 completed credit hours while majoring in mechanical engineering. She was recognized this year by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers at a national conference for her work designing and 3D printing an attachment for shoes to help create traction for runners in the winter. Cichra was named to PSAC Fall Top 10 honors following the cross country season. She is a three-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete, a three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree in cross country and a three-time D2ADA Academic Achievement honoree.
 
Athletics: Cichra was awarded the prestigious NCAA Elite 90 Award for cross country last fall in recognition of owning the highest GPA of all women competing at the National Championship meet. She became the first SRU female student-athlete in any sport to win an Elite 90 award. Cichra was a first team All-PSAC honoree and earned All-Region honors in cross country, helping The Rock to the PSAC team title and a team berth to the National Championships for the second year in a row. She also earned All-Region honors and picked up a PSAC title on the track as a member of the distance medley relay during the indoor season, where she ran the lead-off 1,200-meter leg on the fastest distance medley relay squad in the region. Cichra qualified for the conference championships in multiple individual events during both the indoor and outdoor season as well, including the 800-meter run, 1,500-meter run, mile run and 3,000-meter run.
 



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