National Collegiate Athletic Association
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NCAA Salutes Elite 88 Award Winners From Fall ChampionshipsFor Immediate Release
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Contact(s)
Cameron Schuh
Associate Director of Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117
INDIANAPOLIS---In the inaugural year of the Elite 88 award, the NCAA has named 22 student-athletes as award winners from the fall championships season.
The Elite 88, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 88 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 88 championships.
All GPA’s are based on a straight grading scale to ensure consistency among institutions. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and competing at the championship.
The 22 award winners by sport and division (I, II or III), school and major of study and GPA are:
| Sport (Division) | Name | Institution | Major (GPA) |
| Men’s Cross Country (I) | Jeff Scull | Syracuse University | Nutrition (4.0) |
| Men’s Cross Country (II) | Michael McCampbell | Southwest Baptist University | Biology (3.963) |
| Men’s Cross Country (III) | Chris Platano |
Willamette University |
Economics (4.0) |
| Women’s Cross Country (I) | Katherine Niehaus | Stanford University | Biomechanical Engineering (4.0) |
| Women’s Cross Country (II) | Suzie Strickler | Seattle Pacific University | Exercise Science (4.0) |
| Women’s Cross Country (III) | Katelyn Meger | The College of St. Scholastica | Nursing and Psychology (4.0) |
| Field Hockey (I) | Lauren Elstein | University of Virginia | Economics (N/A) |
| Field Hockey (II) | Kristen Brooks | Shippensburg University | Marketing and International Management (4.0) |
| Field Hockey (III) | Sarah Cannon | Tufts University | Mathematics (4.0) |
| Football (FCS) | Will Thompson | Villanova University | Accounting (3.97) |
| Football (II) | Alex Gilde | Grand Valley State University | Biomedical Science (4.0) |
| Football (III) | Jay Carpenter | Mount Union College | Biology (3.915) |
| Men’s Soccer (I) | Bill Dworsky | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Economics and Comparative Literature (4.0) |
| Men’s Soccer (II) | Daniel St. Jacques | Le Moyne College | Communications (3.81) |
| Men’s Soccer (III) | Nick Pugliese | Williams College |
Political Science (4.0) |
| Women’s Soccer (I) | Kristi Eveland | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Business Administration (3.93) |
| Women’s Soccer (II) | Natalja Stanski | Grand Valley State University | Biomedical Science (4.0) |
| Women’s Soccer (III) | Molly Bletz | Messiah College | Biology (4.0) |
| Women’s Volleyball (I) | Stephanie Brandt | University of Hawai’i at Manoa | Sociology (3.859) |
| Women’s Volleyball (II) | Kyleigh Turner | University of Indianapolis | Business Education (4.0) |
| Women’s Volleyball (III) | Stephanie Strauss | Juniata College | Business Administration (4.0) |
| Men’s Water Polo | Matthew Burton | University of Southern California | Communications (3.87) |
For more information on the Elite 88 award winners, log on to NCAA.com/elite88.
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