ROLLA, Mo. – For the second year in a row, three members of Missouri S&T's men's track & field and cross country teams have been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America team for the 2023-24 season.

Otto Knittel (Spring Hill, KS/Spring Hill), who was one of the three selections a year ago, returned to the squad along with two newcomers in Owen Fraser (Kirksville, MO/Kirksville) and Lucas Rackers (Florissant, MO/St. Louis University HS).  Knittel and Fraser were second-team selections to this year's squad while Rackers was named to the third team.

The two second-team selections competed at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in May, with Fraser finishing sixth in the discus throw with a mark of 175-feet at the national meet.  Knittel competed in the decathlon and finished in 14^th place in the final standings and made the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's all-region team along with Fraser.

Fraser set a new S&T record in the discus during the season with a top mark of 181-3 which he recorded at the Drake Relays.  He finished second in the discus at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Outdoor Championships to eventual national champion Jacob Morris from Truman State and was sixth in that event when he set the school standard at the Drake Relays.

Not only did Fraser – a mechanical engineering major who was the Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the GLVC in men's track & field – set a new school record in the discus, he also established new personal bests in the shot put with a mark of 56-8½ and in the hammer throw with a mark of 189-10 during the season.  He won the GLVC title in the shot put and added fourth place showings in the hammer throw and indoor shot put as well as a sixth place finish in the weight throw at the conference's indoor meet.

Knittel also set a school record during the season in the decathlon, as he recorded a total of 6,921 points at the Harding Last Chance.  Knittel competed in four decathlons during the season and has increased his point total in each of the first three, which included a mark of 6,702 points to win the GLVC title for the second season in a row.  He is also majoring in mechanical engineering at S&T.

Rackers, a ceramic engineering major at S&T, earned All-GLVC honors in cross country for the second year in succession as he finished 11^th at the conference meet in October, then followed it up during the track & field season with a conference championship in the outdoor 1,500-meters.  He made an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time in the mile during the indoor campaign with a top time of 4:13.23 and in the outdoor 1,500 in 3:48.73.

The three Academic All-America selections give Missouri S&T five thus far in the 2023-24 academic year and 125 all-time in the history of the program.  S&T has had 19 Academic All-America honors awarded to members of the men's cross country and track & field programs in its history, including at least one in each of the last four seasons.