LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- IUP women's swimming student-athletes
Rachel Johnson and
Paige Mikesell were named to the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Winter Top 10 Team, announced by the league Friday afternoon. The awards are nominated 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 marks Johnson's second career PSAC Top 10 honor, while Mikesell was named to the PSAC Top 10 for a school record fourth time in her illustrious career. IUP is the only school in the conference with two selections on the PSAC Winter Top 10. The dynamic swimming duo joins Ann Carozza (West Chester), Divonne Franlin (Cal U) and Samantha Pirosko (Gannon) as the five women's honorees in the conference.
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 won the NCAA Elite 90 award at this year's 2023 NCAA DII Swimming Championships in March, also repeating a the PSAC Champion Scholar to go along with CSC Academic All-America First Team honors. She was a four-time All-American at the 2023 NCAA Championships, bringing her career total to 13.
Johnson defended her conference title in the 100 yard breaststroke this season, the third conference championship of her career.
Mikesell earned her fourth career PSAC Top 10 honor, setting 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 pursuing her master's in health & physical education.
She posted six All-American finishes at the 2023 NCAA DII Swimming Championships, increasing her total to 20 overall following this season. Mikesell added school records in the 100 fly and 200 IM in the prelims of the national championships, also defending her conference title in the 200 IM.
Mikesell has an extensive list of individual awards throughout her career – 2022-23 CSC DII Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, 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 Championship Most Outstanding Swimmer, and a three-time CSC Academic All-America honoree.
IUP now boasts 67 total PSAC Top 10 recipients, good for third in the conference behind Slippery Rock (76) and Shippensburg (75).
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