VILLANOVA, Pa.—One of the top honors that a collegiate student-athlete can earn was bestowed on middle distance runner Casey Comber (Maple Glen, Pa.) when he was named a first team Academic All-American for the second straight year. The 2021 Academic All-America® Division I Track & Field/Cross Country Team was selected by CoSIDA and announced on Thursday afternoon. Comber is one of 11 selections among the 45 student-athletes recognized to be a repeat honoree. The Academic All-America® program recognizes top student-athletes based on their combination of academic and athletic performance.
 
Comber becomes the seventh Villanova student-athlete and the first since women's track & field/cross country runner Sheila Reid (2010-11, 2011-12) to be a two-time first team Academic All-America® selection. He was previously named to the District 2 Academic All-District Team by CoSIDA last month and from there moved on to earn consideration on the national ballot for Academic All-America® recognition. Student-athletes are eligible for Academic All-District honors by having a minimum 3.30 cumulative grade point average and being a significant contributor to their teams. Nominations are submitted by each institution and voted on by sports information directors from around the country.
 
Comber concluded his collegiate career this spring by advancing to the NCAA Championships in the 1500 meters for the second straight outdoor season. His race in the national semifinal round at the NCAA meet was the 87^th of his collegiate career and Comber wound up earning honorable mention All-America honors for the outdoor season. Comber had collegiate eligibility remaining outdoors this year and made the most of his season of competition. At the Joe Walker Invite at Ole Miss in April, he recorded a lifetime best mark of 3:37.76 in the 1500 meters to earn his qualifying spot for postseason competition. The time stands as the 10^th-fastest that any Wildcats runner has recorded during their collegiate career and is also the fifth-fastest time by a Villanova runner during the NCAA competition season.
 
After competing at the NCAA Championships, Comber learned just over a week later that he had been accepted to compete at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He raced in the first round of the men's 1500 meters at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. in his Olympic Trials debut and registered a time of 3:46.25. Comber ends his collegiate career as a five-time All-American and a nine-time BIG EAST champion. He is one of 43 members of the Wildcats sub-four minute mile club.
 
The accolades for Comber off the track have been just as impressive as his athletic feats. He has been named to the Academic All-District Team three times during his career (2016-17, 2019-20, 2020-21) and is a seven-time selection to the USTFCCCA All-Academic squads for cross country (four times) and track & field (three times). Comber is also a six-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, a nine-time selection to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll and a three-time honoree on the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Teams.
 
Comber was the Academic All-Area Performer of the Year in cross country in 2018 and was selected as the male recipient of the Villanova Senior Student-Athlete of the Year award in 2018-19. He graduated from Villanova in May 2019 as a double major in Marketing and Business Analytics. Comber enrolled in graduate school and earned a Certificate in Business Analytics from the Villanova School of Business while completing his collegiate eligibility.
 
The 15 student-athletes who earned Academic All-America® first team honors have an average GPA of 3.92. Comber was one of 11 repeat selections along with Zack Anderson (South Dakota), Jovaine Atkinson (Liberty), Kevin Cahoy (Nebraska), Rile DeMeulenaere (Loyola-Chicago), Olin Hacker (Wisconsin), Vincent Kiprop (Alabama), Yared Nugose (Notre Dame), Luke Siedhoff (Nebraska), Mick Stanovsek (Washington) and Matthew Scarpill (Saint Joseph's).
 
Since the Academic All-America® program began in 1972-73, Villanova has had 56 student-athletes be recognized a total of 74 times with Academic All-America® honors. The seven student-athletes in school history to be a two-time first team selection are Comber (2019-20, 2020-21); Dona Hurley (softball, 1982-83 and 1983-84); Joanne Kehs (women's track & field/cross country, 1984-85 and 1985-86); Harold Jensen (men's basketball, 1985-86 and 1986-87); Vicki Huber (women's track & field/cross country, 1987-88 and 1988-89); Sara Carlson (softball, 2000-01 and 2001-02); and Sheila Reid (women's track & field/cross country, 2010-11 and 2011-12).
 
For more information regarding the Academic All-America® program, visit http://academicallamerica.com.