Isaiah Brunache repeats as first team Academic All-American

07/21/2026

Cortland senior Isaiah Brunache has been honored as a national first team College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division III Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-American for the second straight year.

Cortland student-athletes have now earned 49 Academic All-America honors, including three this past school year and 29 since 2011. Last fall, Katie Diem was named to the women's soccer first team and Jordan Ott was chosen to the men's soccer second team.

Brunache is just the second Cortland athlete to be chosen to an Academic All-America first team twice; women's gymnast Emma Schulz was a three-time first-team honoree from 2018-21.

An exercise science major with a 3.91 overall GPA, Brunache is a seven-time All-American as a thrower on the men's track and field team. He was the national runner-up in the shot put at both the 2023 and 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in addition to finishing fifth in the weight throw and seventh in the shot put indoors in 2026, seventh in the weight throw indoors in 2025, eighth in the discus outdoors in 2026, and eighth in the shot put indoors in 2025. He also qualified for nationals in events on six other occasions.

The Red Dragon athlete is the school record-holder in the indoor weight throw, the indoor shot put and the outdoor shot put. He was a three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Niagara Region Field Athlete of the Year - 2025 outdoors, 2026 indoors, 2026 outdoors; and an 18-time All-Niagara Region honoree for indoor shot put four times, indoor weight throw four times, outdoor discus four times, outdoor hammer throw twice and outdoor shot put four times. Brunache is also a five-time All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) champion and two-time runner-up, with six other AARTFC top-8 finishes.

Brunache won eight SUNYAC titles, finished as a runner-up six times and placed third twice for a total of 16 All-SUNYAC honors. He was voted as the SUNYAC Field Athlete of the Year three times (2025 outdoors, 2026 indoors, 2026 outdoors); was the 2024 and 2025 SUNYAC Outdoor Championship and 2026 SUNYAC Indoor Championship Most Valuable Performer of the Meet; and was named the 2023 SUNYAC Rookie of the Year.

He's a six-time SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year (three indoor, three outdoor) and five-time SUNYAC Scholar Athlete of the Year (two indoor, three outdoor), and was chosen as the SUNYAC's Dr. Sam Molnar Award winner as the conference's top male senior student-athlete of the year.

Graphic credited to Erin Locascio