ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - Three CCAA men’s track & field programs and 11 student-athletes earned All-Academic honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) following the 2026 season.
 
Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal Poly Pomona and San Francisco State were selected as USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Men’s All-Academic Teams after each program posted a cumulative team grade-point average of at least 3.0.
 
San Francisco State led the conference with a 3.49 team GPA. The Gators posted the ninth-highest GPA among all NCAA Division II men’s programs and ranked first in the West Region. Cal Poly Humboldt recorded a 3.16 team GPA, while Cal Poly Pomona finished at 3.14.
 
All three programs have earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors in each of the past three seasons. Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal Poly Pomona and San Francisco State were among the four CCAA teams recognized in 2024 and the seven conference programs selected in 2025.
 
On the individual side, Cal Poly Pomona led the conference with five All-Academic Athletes. Chico State followed with four selections, while Cal Poly Humboldt and Cal State LA each placed one student-athlete on the list.
 
Five of the conference’s 11 individual recipients earned the distinction for the second consecutive season. Cal Poly Humboldt’s Michael Payan, Cal Poly Pomona’s Gavin Hanes and Chico State’s Damian Garcia, Brody Staley and Trey Suffredini were also selected in 2025.
 
Payan collected his second straight All-Academic honor after another outstanding season in the pole vault. The sophomore won his second consecutive CCAA championship and finished 10th at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships to earn second-team All-America honors. Payan is already a two-time NCAA Division II All-American and a two-time USTFCCCA All-West Region selection.
 
Cal Poly Pomona’s five selections included Harry Chen, Jordan Crowdus, Hanes, Ricardo Vargas and Khalil Watson.
 
Vargas capped his final season by earning second-team All-America honors with a 15th-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Championships. He also received All-West Region recognition in the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m. Hanes added All-West Region honors in the pole vault and earned a place on the CSC Academic All-District Team.
 
Cal State LA’s Wallace Aflamah earned his first USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete award. Aflamah won the CCAA championship in the 100 meters and was selected as the CCAA Men’s Newcomer of the Meet. He also qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships in the 100 meters after recording a season-best time of 10.30.
 
Chico State placed Garcia, Staley, Suffredini and Jesus Villarreal on the All-Academic list following a season in which the Wildcats won their second consecutive CCAA championship.
 
Garcia earned first-team All-America honors with a fifth-place finish in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Championships. He was also named the CCAA Men’s Track & Field Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season after earning All-West Region recognition in both the 800 and 1,500 meters. His school-record time of 3:35.61 in the 1,500 ranked second in NCAA Division II history when it was recorded.
 
Staley collected second-team All-America honors in the 400 meters and as a member of Chico State’s 4x400-meter relay team. He swept the 200- and 400-meter championships at the CCAA meet and received both the Men’s Track Athlete of the Meet and High Point awards. Suffredini joined Staley on the Wildcats’ All-America 4x400 relay, while Villarreal earned All-West Region honors in the 10,000 meters.
To qualify as a USTFCCCA NCAA Division II All-Academic Athlete, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and meet the organization’s national athletic-performance requirements.
 
A student-athlete must finish the season among the top 50 individuals on the TFRRS descending-order list or participate at the NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Relay competitors may qualify by competing on one of the top 35 relay teams nationally or participating in a relay at an NCAA championship.
 
For the team award, all eligible student-athletes appearing on a program’s NCAA squad list at the end of the academic year must be included in the calculation. The program must maintain a cumulative team GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
 

2026 USTFCCCA Men's All-Academic Athletes

Cal Poly Humboldt

Cal Poly Pomona

San Francisco State

 

2026 USTFCCCA Men's All-Academic Athletes
Name	School	Major
Michael Payan	Cal Poly Humboldt	Applied Fire Science & Management
Harry Chen	Cal Poly Pomona	Kinesiology
Jordan Crowdus	Cal Poly Pomona	Kinesiology
Gavin Hanes	Cal Poly Pomona	History
Ricardo Vargas	Cal Poly Pomona	Masters of Business Administration
Khalil Watson	Cal Poly Pomona	Business Admin- Marketing Management
Wallace Aflamah	Cal State LA	Computer Information Systems
Damian Garcia	Chico State	Business Administration
Brody Staley	Chico State	Exercise Physiology
Trey Suffredini	Chico State	Applied Ecology
Jesus Villarreal	Chico State	Exercise Physiology