Minot State track and field’s Jakob Braunstein and Jacob Jensen each were honored by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their efforts in competition and the classroom this year.

Braunstein, a freshman javelin thrower, and Jensen, a junior athletically who competes in cross country and the distance events in track, both were named USTFCCCA NCAA Division II All-Academic Athletes. The honor is the first from Braunstein and the second for Jensen who was an All-Academic Athlete in 2021-22, as well.

To earn the honor a student-athlete must meet an NCAA national provisional qualifying mark in either indoor or outdoor track and field and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of a 3.25 or higher.

Braunstein, who earned all-NSIC honors in May in the javelin with a second-place finish at the NSIC Outdoor Championships, hit an NCAA provisional mark with a career-best throw of 206 feet to win the Marauders-Mystics Tune-up meet. Braunstein is a Corporate Fitness and Wellness Management major from Ridgefield, Washington.

As for Jensen, who is a Computer Science & Cyber Security and Operations major from Belcourt, North Dakota, his NCAA national qualifying performance came in the mile as he finished fourth at the NSIC Indoor Championships in 4 minutes, 13.07 seconds. That time was converted to 4:09.89 based on the track for the Indoor Championships, besting the NCAA provisional standard by a half-second.