INDIANA, Pa. - IUP swimmers Rachel Johnson and Paige Mikesell were named to the 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Winter Top 10 Team, announced by the league Tuesday afternoon. The awards are chosen and voted on by the league's sports information directors.

The PSAC Top 10 was initiated in the 1998-99 academic year, given to men and women who excel in both the classroom and in athletic competition. A total of 10 student-athletes - five men and five women - are chosen after each sports season; fall, winter and spring. To be a candidate for the Top 10 Award, a student-athlete must have achieved a minimum of a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or key reserve with legitimate athletic credentials. 

This is Johnson's first career PSAC Top 10 honor. From Mohnton, Pennsylvania, Johnson boasts a 4.0 grade point average as she pursues her master's degree in employment and labor relations. She earned her undergraduate degree in hospitality management last spring with a perfect 4.0 GPA. 

Johnson earned two All-American honors at the 2022 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships to bring her career total to nine. She finished ninth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.46 and 15th in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:17.58, helping the Crimson Hawks to a 17th place finish at the NCAA meet. 

Johnson scored 171.5 points and was a two-time champion at the PSAC Championships, winning the 100 breaststroke and 800 freestyle relay. She had second place finishes in the 400 IM, 400 medlay relay and 400 freestyle relay, and was third in the 200 breast, 200 IM and 200 free relay. 

Mikesell earned her third career PSAC Top 10 honor, tying the IUP departmental record for most in a career. A health and physical education major from Clearfield, Pennsylvania, she owns a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA. 

Mikesell had three All-American finishes at the NCAA Championships in March, bringing her career total to a program-record 14. She finished seventh in both the 100 and 200 butterfly, posting times of 54.28 and 2:00.61, respectively, and was 14th in the 200 IM at 2:03.87. 

Mikesell scored 157 points at the PSAC Championships, helping the Crimson Hawks to a second place team finish. She won her 12th and 13th all-time conference titles, finishing first in the 200 IM and 800 free relay, and posted second place finishes in the 100 fly, 200 fly, 400 free relay and 400 medley relay in addition to a fifth place finish in the 100 free. 

Mikesell has a beavy of individual awards - 2021 national champion in the 200 free, 2021 PSAC Women's Swimmer of the Year, 2020-21 PSAC Pete Nevins Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, two-time PSAC Championshp Most Outstanding Swimmer, and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America. 

IUP and the PSAC Top 10 award
Johnson and Mikesell become the 63rd and 64th IUP student-athletes to earn PSAC Top 10 honors in the 25-year history of the award. The 64 total selections is third all-time behind Shippensburg (74) and Slippery Rock (71).

These are the sixth and seventh PSAC Top 10 honor for IUP women's swimming. Mikesell has three and Jackie Hynson has two.

Follow
For coverage of the IUP men's and women's swimming programs, follow the Crimson Hawks on Twitter and Instagram @IUPswimming and online at IUPAthletics.com.