WESTFIELD, Mass.  – Three Westfield State student-athletes – women's lacrosse attack Cassidy Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.), field hockey midfielder Lindsey Spindel (Mendon, Mass./Nipmuc HS), and men's ice hockey goaltender Valtteri Valtonen (Helsinki, Finland) – were all named to the College Sports Communicators At-Large Academic All-District teams on Tuesday.

The 2023 Academic All-District® Men's At-Large Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. 

Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 21.

Harvey, a psychology major, helped lead the Owls women's lacrosse team back to the NCAA tournament.   A first-team all-conference attack player, she scored 56 goals and handed out 13 assists, ranking second on the Owls in scoring this season.

She passed both the 100-point and 100-goal career totals this season, and ranks sixth in career goals (124) and eighth in career points (164) at Westfield State. 

Spindel, a movement and exercise science double-major, added to a slate of honors that included being included in the NFHCA's Scholars of Distinction earlier this year.  A midfielder, she tallied three goals and one assist while helping Westfield to a 10-9 record and a Little East Conference playoff bid this season.

A transfer from Division I LIU, Spindel and Harvey shared Westfield State's Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year award, having the top grade-point average among the Owls senior-class athletes.

Valtonen, a business management major, backstopped the Owls ice hockey team with eye-popping save numbers throughout the season.

A second-team all-conference selection, Valtonen averaged more than 38 saves per game between the pipes for the Owls, and finished the year with a 3.10 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage as Westfield State finished the year 11-14-2 and advanced to the MASCAC semifinals.

Currently, CSC sponsors Academic All-America® programs for men's soccer, women's soccer, football, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's swimming & diving, women's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's tennis, baseball, softball and men's and women's track and field/cross country. Many other sports are eligible through the At-Large program.

College Sports Communicators began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then, has honored more than 38,000 deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America® scholar-athlete honors. Nominees must be a starter or key reserve on their teams and hold a GPA of 3.50 or above.

The complete listing of the Academic All District at-Large teams is available here.