Silhouettes of Avi'Tal Wilson-Perteete of UNLV and Samantha Huerta of Cal State Fullerton leading a women's 800m heat during the NCAA West Preliminary at Hornet Stadium. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

UNLV’s Grace Cunningham Earns Second Straight Academic All-District Honor

Originally posted on UNLV Rebels on SI
By Mark Morales-Smith | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 10:34 AM ET

The UNLV Rebels track & field team had a great year, as did their star high jumper, Grace Cunningham. She was a standout both on the field and in the classroom. Her performance both athletically and academically this past season earned her the honor of being named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team for the second year in a row. The organization made the announcement on Tuesday. She is now a finalist on the CSC Academic All-America ballot and is eligible to be named to the first, second, or third-team Academic All-America teams. The honorees for the Academic All-America teams will be announced on July 15.

Congrats are in order to Grace Cunningham on collecting her second straight @CollSportsComm - team nod ✏️

️ https://t.co/ilwBnVLXx2 #BEaREBEL pic.twitter.com/tqw758sf5v
— UNLV Track & Field/Cross Country (@unlvtfxc) June 24, 2025

In order to qualify for the CSC Academic All-District team, a student-athlete must:

"The Academic All-District team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in competition and in the classroom. In addition to their athletic accomplishments, nominees must carry a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average and have at least sophomore athletic and academic standing. Athletically, honorees were eligible if they had at least one individual event ranked in the top 50 performances in TFRRS' performance list at the time of the nomination during either the indoor or outdoor season."

This past academic school year and both indoor and outdoor track & field season, the senior was named to the Dean's list all four semesters while posting a 3.80 GPA, and earning her master's of Business Administration in Psychology with a minor in Marketing in the classroom.

On the field, she finished third in the high jump at both the Indoor and Outdoor championships. This earned her All-Mountain West Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field honors. Cunningham also qualified for the NCAA West Regional Outdoor Championships, where she finished 45th in the country and 29th in the region.