Five Panthers selected to MVC Scholar-Athlete Team for cross country

ST. LOUIS --- The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) on Thursday afternoon announced its scholar-athlete teams for the 2025 season with five members of the UNI roster earning academic recognition.

Leah Klapatauskas, Meghan Wheatley, Kayla Young, Micah Rees and Brayden Picken were all selected to this year's 53-person team.

The nominating standards for the MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams mirror that of College Sports Communicators (CSC), formerly known as CoSIDA. Nominated student-athletes must have participated in at least two regular season meets or finish in the top-20 at the MVC Championships. Athletes must also boast at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average as a sophomore of both academic and athletic standing.

Klapatauskas, Wheatley, Rees and Picken all ran career-best times this season in the women's six-kilometer and men's eight-kilometer races respectively. Wheatley led the Panthers with a top-25 finish at the MVC Championships two weeks ago in Evansville, Indiana, while Rees finished in the top-50 at the conference championships.

UNI returns to action on Friday, Nov. 14 at the NCAA Midwest Regional Meet in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The women's 6K race will commence at 9 a.m. CT, followed by the men's 10K at 10 a.m. CT. Live coverage of the meet can be found on ESPN+ along with live results HERE.

UNI cross country action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Track and Field), X (@UNITrackFieldXC) and on Instagram (@uni_tf_xc). The full schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.

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