CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M's Valda Kabia, Nele Heinrich and Miriam Zanovello earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, the organization announced on Thursday afternoon. The Lady Buffs were one of two programs from District 6 to have three student-athletes honored.
 
The 2020-21 Academic All-District Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Team, selected by CoSIDA, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the competitive realm and in the classroom. The CoSIDA Academic All-America program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
First-Team Academic All-District honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-American ballot, First, second and third Academic All-American honorees will be announced on August 11.
 
Kabia earns academic all-district honors for the second time after helping the Lady Buffs to a third-place at the NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The sprinter from Richmond, British Columbia finishes her collegiate career as a five-time All-American and five-time Lone Star Conference Champion.
 
In 2019, she became the second Lady Buff in program history to be named the LSC Academic Athlete of the Year during the indoor season. She would later go onto win three events at the conference meet en route to being named the Outstanding Female Track Athlete. 
 
Heinrich was named to the academic all-district team for the second straight year after finishing her collegiate career this spring. The Guben, Germany native also earned Academic All-American honors last spring along with Kabia and Nicolai Hartling. She was a 3-time All-American, 3-time LSC Champion and helped the Lady Buffs to the 2018 NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field Championship during her time in Canyon.
 
Zanovello earns CoSIDA academic accolades for the first time in her career. The Chivasso, Italy native picked up her first career All-American honors at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships with an 8^th place finish in the triple jump. She would go onto finish 8^th in the event in windy, cold conditions at the outdoor championships in Allendale, Mich.