University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Track & Field/Cross Country Lands Four on College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Team
06.23.2026 | Cross Country, Track and Field
GREENWOOD, Ind. – Nkosi Jeju, Alison Graf, Aneta Kucerova and Madison Hannah of the UNC Asheville cross country/track & field teams have earned Academic All-District® honors from College Sports Communicators, the organization announced Tuesday, June 23.Â
This marks the fourth consecutive year the programs have had a student-athlete recognized on the Academic All-District® Team.
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes had to obtain a top-50 regional track and field performance or top-25 regional cross country finish and maintain at least a 3.5 GPA in the classroom.
Nkosi Jeju delivered a standout season for the Bulldogs, opening the 2026 campaign with a victory in the long jump while resetting his own school record with a mark of 7.40m. He earned a silver medal in the long jump at the Big South Indoor Championships, matching his school-record distance. During the outdoor season, Jeju continued his success by winning the long jump at the Asheville Bulldog Invitational and helping the Bulldogs capture the 4x400-meter relay title at the Davidson Relays. He concluded the year with a runner-up finish at the Big South Outdoor Championships as a member of Asheville's 4x400-meter relay team, which set a school-record time of 3:09.78. Jeju finished the year with a 3.568Â GPA and is an economics major.Â
Alison Graf started her senior year off by earning First Team Big South All-Conference honors with her seventh-place finish at the Big South Cross Country Championship. She went on to deliver one of the most dominant middle-distance seasons in program history. She capped her 2026 campaign by winning the 800 meters at the Big South Outdoor Championships, setting both a school and facility record with a time of 2:06.16. Graf competed in the 800 meters three times during the outdoor season and claimed victory in all three races. During the indoor season, she swept the 600-meter and 1,000-meter events at the Tryon Winter Classic, setting a school record in the 600 meters and lowering her own school record in the 1,000 meters. She opened the year at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-Off, placing second in the mile while setting a new school record and moving into second place in program history in the 3,000 meters. Graf finished the year with a 3.735 GPA and double majored in environmental science and mathematics.Â
Aneta Kucerova started the year with a victory at the Duel at the Valley 3K race and went on to earn Second Team Big South All-Conference honors with her 11th place victory at the Big South Cross Country Championship. She put together a remarkable freshman indoor season, as she earned Big South Indoor Female Freshman of the Year honors. She opened the indoor season by breaking the school record in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:54.49 before closing the indoor campaign by setting a new school record in the mile at 4:56.12, surpassing the previous mark held by Alison Graf. Kucerova also helped lead Asheville's distance medley relay team to a Big South Championship title, as the quartet recorded a school-record time of 11:59.05. She carried that momentum into the outdoor season, setting a school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:18.97 before capturing the Big South title in the event. Kucerova added another podium finish at the conference meet, earning bronze in the 5,000 meters. She finished the year with a perfect 4.0 GPA and is a health sciences major.
Madison Hannah capped her collegiate career with four personal-best marks during the 2026 season. She opened the year by recording a personal record of 14.26m in the weight throw before beginning the outdoor campaign with a discus title at the Big South vs. SoCon Challenge. Hannah also set a personal best in the shot put with a mark of 11.80m and later added a hammer throw personal record of 43.90m at the Asheville Bulldog Invitational. At the Catamount Classic, she highlighted her senior season by breaking a 25-year-old school record in the discus with a throw of 45.99m. Hannah finished the year with a 3.763 GPA and earned her degree in new media.Â
