After finishing one of the most successful seasons in program history, Colorado State track & field led the nation with four athletes earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. Senior Jefferson Abbey, junior Mostafa Hassan, senior Alex Hess and junior Jerrell Mock each were named to one of the three All-America teams, as announced by CoSIDA on Fri. June, 23.

On the men’s side, Mock was voted to the first team, while Abbey and Hassan each earned second-team accolades. For the women’s side, Hess was the lone Ram represented, earning Third-Team Academic All-America honors.

Other than CSU, 15 other programs in the nation had multiple Academic All-America honorees, and only three other programs had more than two. CSU’s three Academic All-America honorees on the men’s side also ranks No. 1 in the nation, with only three other programs having more than two.

In order to be eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, student-athletes must first be voted CoSIDA Academic All-District with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 and with legitimate credentials in athletics.

Once student-athletes are selected from each district through a vote of that district’s sports information directors, another vote is conducted to determine the year’s Academic All-America honors. The Academic All-America Committee, CoSIDA Board of Directors and CoSIDA staff comprise the group of votes for Academic All-America honors.

Abbey, Hassan, Hess and Mock are the first CSU athletes in any sport to receive CoSIDA Academic All-America honors since Dana Cranston (volleyball) in 2012. The four are the first CSU track & field/cross country athletes to be named Academic All-America since 2008 (Alex Godell and April Thomas). 

Mock, a biological science major from Logan, Utah, with a 3.8 GPA adds First-Team Academic All-America honors to a long list of career accolades, including multiple All-America honors in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter races. 

At the Stanford Invitational (March 31), Mock ran the 10,000 meters in 28:11.80, shattering a 30-year-old program record by almost 60 seconds. Mock also broke CSU’s 5,000 meters record during the indoor season and took first place overall at Mountain West cross-country championships in October.

Along with being the 2017 indoor NCAA champion and outdoor national runner-up in the shot put, Hassan closed out his junior year with a 3.37 GPA in mechanical engineering.

The four-time First-Team All-American finished 2016-17 as the world’s fourth-ranked indoor shot putter, and the world’s No. 9-ranked shot putter for the outdoor season. The native of Cairo, Egypt owns CSU and Mountain West records in the indoor (69-10.75/21.30m) and outdoor (69-11/21.31m) shot put, all set during the 2016-17 seasons.

Abbey’s collegiate career ends with Academic All-America honors after graduating with a 3.67 GPA in history. The senior finished his career as a two-time All-American and a 10-time All-Mountain West performer.

This season, Abbey won the individual Mountain West title in the outdoor 5,000 meters, and recorded a 5,000 time of 13:37.23 at the Stanford Invitational (March 31) to break a 17-year-old CSU record. The Fort Collins, Colo., native also owns the CSU record in the 3,000 meters (7:51.38), and ranks fourth in program history in the 1,500 meters (3:42.95).

Hess was voted one of the nation’s top scholar-athletes after earning a perfect 4.0 GPA in CSU’s doctor of veterinary medicine program. Hess, who also maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA in her undergraduate studies, placed fourth in the 10,000 meters at the 2016 Mountain West Outdoor Championships. 

Collegian sports director Justin Michael can be reached by email at jmichael@collegian.com or Twitter @JustinTMichael.