CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Two hard-working groups of ladies at Northeast Mississippi Community College have officially earned the title of best in the nation in regard to their studies in the classroom.

The women's cross country and tennis programs were honored as the 2025 Academic Team of the Year by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for their respective sport.

Northeast is one of only six institutions across all divisions of the NJCAA to boast multiple winners. The list includes Fort Hays Tech (Kan.) Northwest, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Oxford (Ga.) College of Emory University, Odessa (Texas) College and Paris (Texas) Junior College.

Women's tennis tied for the third highest grade point average (GPA) among the more than 1,300 entries from the 29 sports that the NJCAA sponsors. Only the baseball and softball teams from Paris had better GPAs than the Lady Tigers.

Tennis compiled an overall GPA of 3.88 while cross country was not far behind at 3.81. Every member of both programs had GPAs greater than 3.6 and obtained individual scholastic accolades as a result.

Both rosters were comprised solely of homegrown talent from inside Northeast's traditional five-county service area of Alcorn, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo and Union counties.

The cross country team included Reagan George (Thrasher), Briley Lesley (East Union), Eva Null (Kossuth), Ellie Pellizzer (Alcorn Central) and Neely Rorie (Alcorn Central).

The tennis roster featured Annsleigh Fair (Tishomingo County), Allie Beth Gillespie (Booneville), Kerstyn Hamm (Biggersville), Georgia Jones (Belmont), Lilly Melson (Booneville) and Olivia Walker (Alcorn Central).

Four of those 11 total athletes achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs for the 2024-25 school year. They are Lesley from cross country plus Fair, Gillespie and Melson of tennis.

"I just can't say how proud I am of them. They did awesome this year," said Northeast tennis coach Mark Gilliland. "They are just the epitome of what it means to be a professional. They're always there and giving 100-percent."

This award is the exclamation point at the end of an outstanding inaugural season of cross country for Northeast. The Lady Tigers claimed the first-ever NJCAA Region 23 title and advanced to the national championship in Virginia.

Null was the runner-up at the 6K regional race in Huntsville, Ala., while Lesley recorded a top five finish. Null also clocked Northeast's best time at nationals at 22:14.1.

"These young women chased excellence in every arena, including the classroom," Northeast cross country coach Aaron Hight said. "It proves what I've always known about them that they're mentally as tough as they are on the course. I couldn't be more proud of them."

Women's cross country and tennis were recognized as the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Academic Team of the Year as well. So, too, was the cheerleading squad and men's cross country.