INDIANAPOLIS - Four members of the IU Indianapolis men's and women's track and field programs were honored by the Horizon League office on Thursday (Mar. 19) as the league announced the #HLTF All-Academic Teams. Men's runners Luke Shappell and Jaydon Steidinger were named to the All-Academic Team while women's runner Ella Colclesser and men's runner Riley Nixon earned honorable mention recognition. 

Shappell collected his fifth Horizon League All-Academic Team award, having collected the honors in both cross country and track. He was the Horizon League champion in the mile and anchored the Jaguars' distance medley relay championship squad at the league championships also. He broke the school record in the mile during indoor season, clocking a time of 4:07.19. Shappell, who was also the team's nominee for the Sportsmanship Award, maintains a 3.88 grade point average while studying biology. 

Steidinger earned First Team All-Horizon League honors in helping the Jaguars win the distance medley relay at the league championships. He also qualified for the finals of the 800m at the Horizon League Championships, ultimately finishing sixth overall. Earlier in the regular season, he clocked the fourth-best 800m time in program history, running 1:54.11 at the GVSU Big Meet-Friday on Feb. 13. Steidinger holds a perfect 4.0 grade point average while studying accounting. 

Nixon earned First Team All-Horizon League honors as part of the Jaguars distance medley relay winning team. He was the league runner-up in the mile as well and ran the second-best mile in program history earlier in the season at 4:07.20. He clocked the fifth-best 3K in program history at 8:17.59 this past indoor season. Nixon maintains a 3.53 grade point average while studying exercise science. 

Colclesser was the team's top finisher in the mile and 3K at the Horizon League Championships while also competing on the Jaguars' distance medley relay team. During the regular season she ranked among the top-15 in the 3K and top-25 in the mile. She was also voted Horizon League All-Academic Team honorable mention during the fall cross country season. Academically, Colclesser holds a 3.95 grade point average while studying nursing. 

The full list of honorees is below. 

2026 Valeo Men's Indoor #HLTF All-Academic Team
Joshua Neary, Detroit Mercy
Joshua Otten, Detroit Mercy
Luke Shappell, IU Indianapolis
Jaydon Steidinger, IU Indianapolis
Cullen Boyle, Milwaukee
Karsten Grundahl, Milwaukee
Colton O'Hara, Northern Kentucky
Pierce Grzymkwoski, Oakland
Carter McCalister, Oakland
Jack Mills, Purdue Fort Wayne
Patrick Statzer, Wright State
Owen Brady, Youngstown State
Blaze Fichter, Youngstown State
Jaden Kirkwood, Youngstown State
Lukas Lang, Youngstown State
Jake McEntyre, Youngstown State
Trenton Shutters, Youngstown State
Ryan Tetrick, Youngstown State
 
Men's Honorable Mentions
Riley Nixon, IU Indianapolis
Lucas Picco, Milwaukee
Zac Schmidt, Milwaukee
Tyler Donovan, Oakland
Colin Gasson, Purdue Fort Wayne
Colten Gasson, Purdue Fort Wayne
Boden Genovese, Purdue Fort Wayne
Owen Kaufman, Purdue Fort Wayne
 
2026 Valeo Women's Indoor #HLTF All-Academic Team
Natalie Keller, Cleveland State
Jada Clark, Detroit Mercy
Isabel Roloff, Milwaukee
Anna Szepieniec, Milwaukee
Olivia VanZeeland, Milwaukee
Kallie Volk, Milwaukee
Olivia Kennedy, Northern Kentucky
Kylei Anderson, Oakland
Jamie Giese, Oakland
Bella Hodges, Purdue Fort Wayne
Amelie Mach, Purdue Fort Wayne
Riley Tate, Purdue Fort Wayne
Ellie Zagel, Purdue Fort Wayne
Julia Dill, RMU
Samantha Hennen, RMU
McKinley Fielding, Youngstown State
Ainsley Hamsher, Youngstown State
 
Women's Honorable Mentions
Ella Colclesser, IU Indianapolis
Victoria Evtimov, Milwaukee
Angelica Refinski, Milwaukee
Cameron Bitterman, Northern Kentucky
Francesca Carlo, Purdue Fort Wayne
Ali Sparks, Purdue Fort Wayne
Kaitlyn Eger, Youngstown State