Menomonie High School graduates Bella Jacobsen and Mary Berg collected academic honors as the collegiate year came to an end.

Jacobsen, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, was named to the 2024-25 Academic All-Big Ten teams for women’s cross country and women’s track and field, and was also selected to the 2025 Academic All-District® Women’s Track & Field Team, as announced by College Sports Communicators (CSC).

A biology major, Jacobsen met the eligibility requirements for Academic All-Big Ten honors by maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and being enrolled full-time for at least 12 months. She was among 28 UW track and field athletes and one of 178 total spring sport Badgers to receive the distinction. She also earned the award for cross country last fall. Jacobsen first earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2023.

On the track, Jacobsen delivered a standout outdoor season. She earned a podium finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, placing eighth in the 10,000 meters with a personal-best time of 33:34.26. She went on to place 23rd in the same event at the NCAA West First Round (35:03.48). Earlier in the season, she notched personal bests in the 5000 meters, including a fifth-place finish at the Badger Challenge (16:12.42).

In cross country, Jacobsen earned all-region honors with a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional (19:59.8), one of three sub-20 minute 6K performances on the season. She capped the year with a 146th-place showing at the NCAA Championships in November.

The CSC Academic All-District® Team recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined excellence in the classroom and on the field of competition.

Jacobson is a 2023 graduate of Menomonie High School.

Menomonie’s Berg was one of 21 UW-Stout student-athletes selected to the 2024-25 Blue Devil Academic Top Scholar list for compiling the highest-grade point average during the 2024-25 academic school year in their respective sports.

Berg, a freshman guard on the women’s basketball team, was part of a historic team for the Blue Devils (23-8) as the team advanced to the first NCAA Final Four in school history. Berg saw action in all 31 games. Berg is majoring in business administration-marketing.

Five seniors, five juniors, seven sophomores and four first-year students across the 23 varsity sports comprise the 2024-25 Blue Devil Academic Scholar list, which is the tenth year the list has been put together. The grade point average (GPA) is determined from the fall and spring semesters, along with the January term.

For the academic school year, 533 of 691 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) certified UW-Stout student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or better; 405 had a GPA of 3.5 or better; and 32 had a 4.0 for the school year.  The combined student-athlete GPA (3.37) exceeded the general student body GPA (3.16) for the 15th consecutive school year.

Chat GTP assisted in the creation of this story.