INDIANAPOLIS - Four members of the IU Indianapolis men's and women's track and field teams were honored by the Horizon League as the league's All-Academic Teams were announced on Thursday (Mar. 20). On the women's side, veteran Ellie Cates was voted to the All-Academic Team while Wini Barnett was named an honorable mention selection. On the men's side, both Mitchell Gits and Luke Shappell were honorable mention picks. 

Cates, a graduate student majoring in bioinformatics, is a two-time All-Academic Team honorable mention selection. She finished her indoor career as the program's school record holder in both the mile and 3,000m events and was the team's top performer in the mile, 3K and 5K this indoor season. She ranked among the Horizon League's top-10 in all three events this season and scored in the 5K at the league championships, placing seventh overall at 17:38.46. 

Barnett, a junior majoring in biology and neuroscience, was the team's top runner in the 800m event during the indoor season, ranking No. 12 in the Horizon League. She ran on the Jaguars' 4x400 and DMR teams at the Horizon League Championships while just missing a spot in the 800m finals, placing 10th in the prelims. For her career, she ranks among the program's top-10 all-time in both the 600m and 800m events. 

Gits, a graduate student studying human computer interaction, was the team's top performer in the 5,000m event during the indoor season with a best time of 14:34.96. He competed in the 3K and 5K at the #HLTF Championships, placing 12th overall in the 5K at 14:52.55. For his career, he ranks No. 7 on the program's all-time list in the 5K, having run 14:28.40. 

Shappell, a sophomore studying biology, also earned #HLXC All-Academic Team honors during the fall. He ran the anchor leg of IU Indy's Horizon League Championship winning distance medley relay team at the #HLTF Championships. He was also the team's top performer in the mile and 3K this season, running the second-fastest mile (4:10.09) in school history and third-fastest 3K (8:15.20) in program history. He finished fourth overall in the mile at the Horizon League Championships with a time of 4:15.85. 

The full #HLTF All-Academic Teams are listed below. 

2025 Valeo Men's Indoor #HLTF All-Academic Team
Simon Jones, Detroit Mercy
Joshua Neary, Detroit Mercy
Joshua Otten, Detroit Mercy
Colton O'Hara, Northern Kentucky
Logan Detweiler, Oakland
Carter McCalister, Oakland
Owen Kaufman, Purdue Fort Wayne
Nathan Mills, Purdue Fort Wayne
Nicholas Mils, Purdue Fort Wayne
Harrison Niswander, Purdue Fort Wayne
Patrick Statzer, Wright State
Hunter Christopher, Youngstown State
Tobias Jones, Youngstown State
Coleson Kertesz, Youngstown State
Lukas Lang, Youngstown State
Ryan Meadows, Youngstown State
Mason Stephens, Youngstown State
 
Men's Honorable Mentions
Mitchell Gits, IU Indianapolis
Luke Shappell, IU Indianapolis
Cullen Boyle, Milwaukee
Bryant McLaughlin, Milwaukee
Yami Albrecht, Oakland
Colin Gasson, Purdue Fort Wayne
Jack Mills, Purdue Fort Wayne
Nathan Sheriff, Wright State
 
2025 Valeo Women's Indoor #HLTF All-Academic Team
Grace Frye, Cleveland State
Madison Luthy, Cleveland State
Nina Pizzo, Detroit Mercy
Ellie Cates, IU Indianapolis
Calin Kinas, Milwaukee
Isabel Roloff, Milwaukee
Dominique Thomas, Milwaukee
Olivia VanZeeland, Milwaukee
Olivia Kennedy, Northern Kentucky
Erin Hegarty, Oakland
Grace Nolan, Oakland
Ashley Quinn, Oakland
Riley Tate, Purdue Fort Wayne
Marissa Van De Weg, Purdue Fort Wayne
Ailena Reynolds-Diaz, RMU
Ainsley Hamsher, Youngstown State
Esther Solarin, Youngstown State
 
Women's Honorable Mentions
Wini Barnett, IU Indianapolis
Anna Szepieniec, Milwaukee
Julia Pohl, Northern Kentucky
Ke'vina Finch, Oakland
Julia Dill, RMU
Madison Murry, Youngstown State
Krista Perry, Youngstown State