2020-21 CoSIDA NCAA Division II Women's Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-District Teams
An All-American on the track this past season, graduated senior Maryssa Depies received additional recognition this Thursday afternoon from the College Sports Information Directors of America.
CoSIDA announced today that Depies (Muskegon, Michigan/Reeths-Puffer) was one of 10 selections in District 4 for the 2020-21 Women's Cross Country/Track and Field Academic All-District team, and will be eligible for consideration for Academic All-American honors in August.
District 4 is one of eight districts at the Division II level and roughly corresponds to the Midwest Region in NCAA Division II parlance, including teams from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference as well as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
The Academic All-District program, part of CoSIDA's Academic All-America Program that's been running since 1952, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
Depies was a standout for the Chargers for the past four seasons in both cross country and track and field. She earned All-American honors at the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in March in Birmingham, Alabama, taking eighth place in the mile (4:57.82). During her track and field career, she won the 2019 G-MAC Outdoor championship in the 5,000m run, and was an eight-time placer in G-MAC track and field meets, five times indoor and three times outdoor.
While her All-American moment came in track and field, Depies' most consistent success for the Chargers came on the cross country course. A mainstay for the Charger harriers throughout her career, Depies earned first-team All-G-MAC honors in cross country in all four seasons she competed, and never finished lower than fourth in a G-MAC Championship meet, including a runner-up finish as a sophomore in 2018.
Depies helped the Chargers qualify for three straight NCAA Division II national meets from 2017-2019, a streak that was only broken when Covid-19 canceled fall championships at the NCAA Division II level in 2020. She also twice earned All-Midwest Region honors in cross country, missing the chance to earn a third honor in 2020 because of Covid-19 as well.
In the classroom, Depies was impressive as well, graduating Summa Cum Laude this past spring with a 3.93 GPA and a degree in Biochemistry. She was a two-time recipient of the Hillsdale President's Scholar-Athlete Award and also received the prestigious LAUREATES scholarship for biochemistry research as a senior. During her time at Hillsdale she was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Zeta honoraries, the Pre-Professional Society and the Catholic Society.
Depies is currently attending Butler University and pursuing a Master's degree in Physician Associate studies, with the goal of becoming a practicing PA in her home state of Michigan following graduation.
The senior is the first Hillsdale College women's cross country or track and field athlete to earn Academic All-District honors from CoSIDA since Emily Oren received the award in 2016. By winning the honor, Depies is now among the 80 nominees under consideration for Academic All-American honors from CoSIDA, to be awarded on Aug. 11.
If selected, Depies would become just the 19th CoSIDA Academic All-American from Hillsdale College in the 69-year history of the program, and the third female track and field/cross country athlete, joining Oren (2016) and Sara Petta (1997).