NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Six members of the Yale men's cross country and track and field teams were named Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators (CSC) for 2025-26:
The organization announced the awards on Tuesday.
Andrew Farr
Farr, a psychology major, was Yale's captain this past year. He was named Academic All-Ivy League for the indoor season.
This indoor season Farr posted the second-best 60m time in school history (6.69, third in the Northeast Region), and was a part of the eighth-fastest 4x400 meter relay in school history (3:13.73). Outdoors this year, he was a part of the school record-setting 4x400 meter relay (3:09.34) and the second-best 4x100 meter relay in school history (40.51).
Farr earned Yale's Lee Calhoun Award, presented annually to the most outstanding member of the sprints and hurdles event group, along with the Most Improved Athlete Award. Last year he earned the team's Gardner Millett Award for his sportsmanship and inspiration.
Farr graduated magna cum laude and is a member of Psi Chi (the international honor society in psychology). He earned Yale's F. Wilder Bellamy Jr. Memorial Prize, awarded to a Yale junior who best exemplifies personal integrity, loyalty to friends, and high-spiritedness in athletics, academics, and social life. He served as a research assistant for Professor Laurie Santos' Happiness Team at Yale, contributing research and editorial feedback for a chapter on the science of well-being to be published in the upcoming edition of Yale's Introduction to Psychology textbook. He interned at Yale's Good Life Center.
Farr was a member of the Unorthojocks, an a cappella group made up exclusively of varsity athletes. Farr also coached with a local youth track program.
Farr is a graduate of Gorham High School.
Owen Karas
Karas, a psychology major, recently capped a record-setting career. In cross country this past season he was Yale's top finisher at the NCAA Northeast Regional, placing 11th overall (29:27.2) and earning a spot in the NCAA Championships. He earned all-region honors for the second year in a row and was first team All-Ivy League, along with earning the cross country team's John Cleary '54, Mike Stanley '54 Award as MVP.
In track and field this past year, Karas set a pair of school records:
- 5K indoors (13:51.46)
- 5K outdoors (13:47.74)
He graduates with three other school records as well, all set in 2025:
- 1500m outdoors (3:37.52)
- Mile indoors (3:58.37)
- 3K indoors (7:51.68)
Indoors this past season, Karas ranked in the top 20 regionally in both the mile (4:02.33, 16th) and the 5K (13:51.46, 19th). Outdoors, he ranked in the top 15 regionally in both the 5K (13:47.74, 11th) and the 1500m (3:41.93, 13th). He competed at the NCAA East First Round in the 5K and won two track and field team awards for the second year in a row: MVP and Outstanding Middle Distance Runner (he also was named Outstanding Middle Distance Runner in 2023-24). He earned bronze in the mile at the Ivy indoor championships.
Karas' NCAA experience also includes advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals in the 1500m outdoors in 2024 and 2025.
Karas was part of Yale's first-place finish in the distance medley relay at the 2025 Ivy League Indoor Championships (9:37.35), earning first team All-Ivy League recognition in the process. He placed second in the 1500m at the 2025 Ivy League Outdoor Championships (3:43.44) to earn second team All-Ivy in that event.
Karas' career honors also include earning All-East in the mile indoors at the 2024 IC4A Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Karas' academic honors include being named second team CSC Academic All-America in 2024-25. He was named CSC Academic All-District in 2024-25; Academic All-Ivy League for cross country in 2025; and USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete for cross country in 2024 and 2025 and track and field in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Karas has worked as a care provider at I Am Boundless, supporting a blind adult with autism and epilepsy.
Karas is a graduate of St. Charles.
Alex Mader
Mader, a physics (intensive) major, ranked No. 10 all-time at Yale and 17th in the Northeast Region this outdoor season with his 10K time of 29:56.16. Additionally, he competed at the NCAA Northeast Regional in cross country.
Mader was an Academic All-Ivy League honoree in outdoor track and field this past season. He worked as an undergraduate researcher in computational physics, machine learning and simulations for biophysics applications. In 2024 he was a research assistant at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, Calif., working on matter in extreme conditions. He has also worked for the software development companies Anysphere and Traversal.
Mader is a graduate of Lick-Wilmerding High School.
Kenan Pala
Pala, an economics major, qualified for the NCAA Championships and earned All-Region honors in cross country after finishing 12th (29:31.1) at the Northeast Regionals. He also earned the cross country team's Coaches' Award. In track and field, he ranks No. 2 all-time at Yale in the 5K indoors (13:56.83). Outdoors this past season, he ranked No. 24 regionally in the 10K (30:12.50).
Pala was a senior analyst for Yale Undergraduate Capital Partners. He co-founded and led that organization's fintech & web3 team, sourcing early-stage startups for venture funds. Pala also founded Kids4Community, a nonprofit that has raised more than $1 million for homelessness initiatives. He competed for Team USA at the 2023 Trail and Mountain Running World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria.
Pala is a graduate of Francis Parker School.
Nolan Recker
Recker, an economics major, set the school record and ranked No. 2 in the Northeast Region in the weight throw indoors (21.04m). Outdoors, he ranked No. 6 regionally in the discus throw (52.20m) and No. 10 regionally in the hammer throw (62.59m, No. 2 all-time at Yale). He competed at the NCAA East First Round in the hammer throw. Recker earned the team's Outstanding Thrower Award for the second year in a row. He earned bronze in the weight throw at the Ivy indoor championships.
Recker was All-East in the weight throw indoors at the 2023 IC4A Championships. He ranks ninth on Yale's all-time list in the discus throw outdoors (52.86m).
Recker was a USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete for track and field in 2023-24 and 2024-25. He was a member of Yale Undergraduate Diversified Investments, and now works for Morgan Stanley.
Recker is a graduate of Muscatine High School.
Jake Sun
Sun, an economics major, ranked No. 23 in the Northeast Region in the weight throw indoors (17.91m). His mark of 18.47m in 2025 places him sixth on Yale's all-time list in that event.
Outdoors, Sun is No. 3 on Yale's all-time list in the hammer throw (59.60m).
Sun has held multiple internships in finance. He was a member of Yale Undergraduate Diversified Investments.
Sun is a graduate of St. Margaret's Episcopal School.
