FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks had eight representatives named to the CSC Academic All-District Team. Five male student-athletes were named to the CSC AAD Men's At-Large NCAA/NAIA Team while three female student-athletes were named to the CSC AAD Women's At-Large NCAA/NAIA Team.

Male Student-Athlete Recipients
Gavin Barnick - Rifle
Harrison Israels - Hockey
Rylan Kissell - Rifle
Payton Matsui - Hockey
Mike Ophoff - Nordic Skiing

Female Student-Athlete Recipients
Sára Karasová - Rifle
Kendall Kramer - Nordic Skiing
Mariel Pulles - Nordic Skiing

The award, selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC), recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-American program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions - NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. 

Hockey
Israels and Matsui were the two recipients for the Nanooks Division I men's ice hockey team. Israels, a forward on the hockey team and a business administration major, has maintained a 3.90 GPA during his time at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This season he posted 15 points on nine goals and six assists while playing in all 34 of the 'Nooks games. He scored three power-play goals and one short-handed goal while being a staple for Alaska in the face-off circle. He led the team with 379 face-off wins and posted a win percentage of .529. He added 22 blocked shots in 2022-23. Matsui, another forward for the Nanooks hockey team, posted a 3.61 GPA while studying business administration. This season, Matsui was the co-leader in points, posting 28 points on nine goals and a team-high 19 assists. Despite no power-play goals, he connected for a short-handed goal and tallied a pair of game-winning goals. Matsui also added a hat-trick this season and an overtime game-winner. He turned his season around in late-November, scoring 26 points in the final 24 games including scoring in 12 of the final 13 games.

The Nanooks hockey team finished 2022-23 with a 22-10-2 record, matching their third-most wins ever and posting their most wins since the 2001-02 season.

Rifle
Barnick, a business administration major, was the 2023 NCAA Rifle Championships Elite 90 Award recipient. He boasted a 3.98 GPA at the NCAA Championships and now holds a 3.91 GPA after the Spring 2023 semester. He was named a CRCA Scholastic All-American alongside earning CRCA Aggregate All-American Second Team honors. He averaged an 1181.750 in the aggregate scoring while posting an average of 593.583 in air rifle and 588.167 in smallbore. In smallbore he earned CRCA Smallbore All-American First Team honors and grabbed a CRCA Air Rifle All-American Honorable Mention nod. Sára Karasová earned a spot on the Women's At-Large NCAA/NAIA Team. She too earned a CRCA Scholastic All-American honor while grabbing CRCA Aggregate, Air Rifle and Smallbore All-American honors. She was a CRCA Aggregate All-American Second Team selection holding an aggregate average of 1182.385, a Smallbore First Team All-American with an average of 588.308 and an Air Rifle Second Team All-American with an average of 594.077. 

Rylan Kissell was the final rifle student-athlete named to the Academic All-District Team. While also earning a CRCA Scholastic All-American honor, Kissell shot his way to the CRCA Most Valuable Shooter, NCAA Championships Most Outstanding Shooter and NCAA Air Rifle Individual Champion awards. He was the team's lone CRCA Aggregate All-American First Team selection while earning First Team honors in both the CRCA Air Rifle and CRCA Smallbore team selections. Kissell ended the season fifth in the nation with an aggregate average of 1186.616. In smallbore, he averaged a 588.154, good for ninth in the nation and he led the way in air rifle with an average of 598.462. This season, Kissell shot a pair of 600's making it four-career, one of which came at the NCAA Championships, the first-ever shot at NCAA's; he also never shot under 597 in 13 matches shot. 

The trio of student-athletes completed their 2022-23 season as members of the 2023 NCAA Rifle National Champion team as Alaska earned their 11th national title in mixed rifle, their first since 2008.

Nordic Ski
The Nordic ski team was represented by three student-athletes; Kendall Kramer and Mariel Pulles on the women's side and Mike Ophoff on the men's side. Kramer earned the All-District nod after finishing the academic year with a 3.83 GPA while studying psychology. This year in ski, Kramer placed in the top-five of the freestyle one time and earned two top-10 finishes in freestyle. She had one top-five finish in classical alongside two top-10 finishes and earned a Second Team All-American honor in the 5k freestyle at the NCAA Ski Championships. Pulles, a business administration major, has maintained a 3.68 GPA during her time at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This season Pulles posted eight top-five finishes in the regular-season including a win at the RMISA Qualifiers in the classic race and a win at UAA in the women's freestyle sprints. In the postseason (NCAA Regionals/Championships) she posted a second-place finish in the 5k Regionals freestyle and 20k Regionals classic. At NCAA's she earned a pair of All-American honors with a sixth-place finish and Second Team honor in the 5k freestyle before earning a fourth-place finish and First Team honor in the 20k classic. 

Ophoff, the lone male student-athlete named to the All-District Team, has maintained a cumulative 3.52 GPA while studying mechanical engineering. This season, Ophoff competed in every competition for the 'Nooks and grabbed four top-five finishes including a win in the classic race at Montana State. In the postseason, Ophoff took third in the men's 10k freestyle and second in the men's 20k classic at the NCAA Regionals. At the NCAA Championships, Ophoff earned a First Team All-American honor in the 10k freestyle, taking fifth, before racing to a Second Team All-American honor in the men's 20k classic - he took seventh.

The Nanooks ski team finished the season with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Ski Championships, tying their best finish ever. 

Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 21 (men) and June 22 (women).

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