Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University cross country and track & field programs placed 12 student-athletes on the
2026 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Team, matching the maximum number of honorees permitted per institution.
The women's contingent included sophomore
Rose Kuchera, who advanced to the national ballot for CSC Academic All-America® consideration, three-time honoree
Madelyn Moretti, senior
Megan Penrod, two-time honoree
Anna Rorrer, junior
Caroline Garbe and sophomore
Nadia Constantakis. On the men's side,
Christian Cupp earned Academic All-District® honors for the second consecutive season, joining fellow juniors
Nick Payne and
Isaac Wetzel, as well as sophomores
Louie Liberatore,
Colm Matheney and
Ben Shields.
To be eligible for CSC Academic All-District® recognition, student-athletes must be at least sophomores academically and athletically, maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 or higher and either rank among the top 50 individuals in their region in track & field or finish among the top 50 competitors at the NCAA Cross Country Regional Championships.
Duquesne reached the maximum number of Academic All-District® selections for the third time in the past four years.
Sophomore • Jumps / Sprints • Canonsburg, Pa.
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA NOMINEE
Kuchera earned CSC Academic All-District® honors and advanced to the national ballot for CSC Academic All-America® consideration following a historic sophomore campaign. The finance major maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA while becoming the first All-American and first NCAA Championship competitor in Duquesne women's track & field history, earning Second Team All-America honors with a 14th-place finish in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She also garnered Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team recognition during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Kuchera set school records in the indoor long jump, indoor triple jump and outdoor triple jump, captured the A-10 outdoor title in the triple jump and a bronze medal in the long jump, and added an ECAC outdoor gold in the triple jump. She led the Mid-Atlantic Region and ranked ninth nationally in the indoor long jump with a season-best 6.52m mark, while also ranking top-35 regionally in the pentathlon, indoor and outdoor triple jump, indoor and outdoor long jump, 60-meter hurdles, 100-meter hurdles and 4x100-meter relay.
Senior • Throws • Madison, Ohio
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Moretti garnered CSC Academic All-District® honors for the third consecutive season, capping an outstanding career both in the classroom and in competition. The nursing major graduated with a 3.81 GPA and was recognized as Duquesne's Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She ranked among the Mid-Atlantic Region's top performers in the shot put, placing 30th outdoors with a mark of 13.56 meters and 36th indoors with a season-best throw of 13.15 meters. Moretti concluded her career as Duquesne's outdoor shot put record holder at 15.53 meters and earned four Atlantic 10 Championship medals, highlighted by 2024 A-10 Outdoor Championships Most Outstanding Field Performer honors.
Senior • Throws • Butler, Pa.
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Penrod secured CSC Academic All-District® honors to close out her collegiate career with a 3.90 GPA as a speech-language pathology major and ranked 27th in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the javelin with a season-best throw of 41.61 meters. That mark came at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships, where she placed fourth to record the highest conference championship finish of her career. Penrod scored at the A-10 Outdoor Championships in each of her final three seasons.
Junior • Sprints/Hurdles • Woodbridge, Ohio
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Rorrer collected CSC Academic All-District® honors for the second consecutive year while maintaining a 3.80 GPA as a physical therapy major. On the track, she ranked among the Mid-Atlantic Region's top 20 in both the 100m hurdles (19th, 13.85) and 400m hurdles (12th, 59.41), and placed 33rd in the 60m hurdles indoors (8.71). Rorrer swept gold in both the 100m and 400m hurdles at the Atlantic 10 and ECAC Outdoor Championships, becoming the first Duquesne student-athlete to win both hurdle events at the A-10 Outdoor Championships in the same season and the first to earn two gold medals at the meet since 2005. She totaled nine wins across the 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, and 4x400m relay during the outdoor season.
Junior • Jumps • Webster, N.Y.
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Garbe, a physical therapy major with a 3.67 GPA, earned her first CSC Academic All-District® honor while ranking among the Mid-Atlantic Region's top 25 in the high jump both indoors and outdoors. She placed 24th indoors with a mark of 1.70m and 23rd outdoors with a clearance of 1.68m. Garbe scored at both the Atlantic 10 Indoor and Outdoor Championships, finishing fourth indoors and fifth outdoors, and added a bronze medal at the ECAC Outdoor Championships.
Sophomore • Jumps • Gibsonia, Pa.
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Constantakis claimed her first CSC Academic All-District honor in her first eligible season while maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA as a pre-professional pharmacy major. She set both the Duquesne indoor (3.73m, 22nd in the Mid-Atlantic Region) and outdoor (3.86m, 11th in the Mid-Atlantic Region) pole vault records this season. Constantakis captured bronze at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships and added a gold medal at the ECAC Outdoor Championships.
Junior • Multis • Shaker Heights, Ohio
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Cupp repeats as a CSC Academic All-District® honoree after setting the Duquesne decathlon record with 7,234 points en route to a gold medal at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships. His performance ranked third in the Mid-Atlantic Region and 19th in the NCAA East. He also ranked 10th in the region in the long jump and 40th in the pole vault, and ran on the gold-medal 4x400-meter relay team at the IC4A Championships. In the classroom, Cupp holds a 3.66 GPA as a health sciences major.
Junior • Throws • Girard, Pa.
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Payne earned his first CSC Academic All-District® honor after posting a 3.87 GPA as a pharmaceutical sciences major. In competition, he ranked 18th in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the hammer throw with a season-best mark of 54.45m, which ranks No. 2 in the Duquesne record book and is the program's best performance since 2005. His top mark came at the IC4A Outdoor Championships, where he placed seventh overall to score for the Dukes.
Junior • Hurdles • Butler, Pa.
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Wetzel owns a 3.98 GPA as a biology major and captured his first CSC Academic All-District® honor after ranking among the Mid-Atlantic Region's top 35 in both the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay. He scored in both events at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships, placing sixth in the 400-meter hurdles and fifth as part of the 4x400-meter relay team, and currently owns the fifth-fastest 400-meter hurdles time in program history.
Sophomore • Throws • Canonsburg, Pa.
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Liberatore, a sophomore health sciences major, maintains a 3.71 GPA and earned his first CSC Academic All-District® honor after ranking 23rd in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the javelin (58.22m). Battling back from injury following an NCAA Regional qualifying season as a freshman, he returned to competition for the final two meets of the year and capped his season with a fifth-place finish in the javelin, scoring for the Dukes.
Sophomore • Multis • Chagrin Falls, Ohio
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Matheney picked up his first CSC Academic All-District® honor as a sophomore health sciences major while maintaining a 3.66 GPA and ranking fifth in the Mid-Atlantic Region and 40th in the NCAA East in the decathlon with a score of 6,711 — the second-best mark in program history. He captured a bronze medal at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships with that performance and also ranked among the region's top 45 in both the pole vault and javelin this season.
Sophomore • Distance • St. Clairsville, Ohio
CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT®
Shields, a sophomore finance major with a 3.72 GPA, secured CSC Academic All-District® honors after ranking among the Mid-Atlantic Region's top 45 in both the 10,000 meters (33rd, 31:01.54) and 5,000 meters (44th, 14:26.58). He also scored for the Dukes with a seventh-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships and claimed a victory in the 1,500 meters at the Saint Francis Red Flash Invitational.
FOLLOW THE DUKES
Follow Duquesne Track & Field online at
GoDuquesne.com, as well as on
X,
Instagram, and
Facebook (@DuqXCTF).
