Adams State's McGlynn receives Elite 88 Award

Courtesy Adams State's sports information department

TURLOCK, Calif.— Adams State College’s Kristen McGlynn (Bailey, Colo.) has been named as the recipient of the Elite 88 award for the 2011 NCAA Division II Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship. The Grizzly senior, who is majoring in English with an emphasis in communications, carries a perfect 4.0 GPA. She was presented with the award Wednesday night during the pre-championship banquet held Wednesday evening on the campus of meet host Cal State-Stanislaus.

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 championships.

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, and a designated member of the squad at the championship. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.

McGlynn is the first ASC student in any sport to win the award, first given in the fall of 2009. A 4-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American, McGlynn will contest both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at this weekend’s championships to be held here on the Al Brenda Track at Warrior Stadium.

She is the second seeded runner in the 18-woman field for Thursday night’s 10,000-meter run after posting a time of 34 minutes, 3.53 seconds in the event earlier this month at Stanford. That time ranks her 14th on the all-time NCAA Division II performers list. She is the fifth seed in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:19.07, turned in during April at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut. McGlynn took fourth in that event at the 2011 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in March and set the indoor school record of 16:16.51 the fastest ever indoor time by a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference female athlete in February.

The Elite 88 Award is just one of several academic awards that McGlynn, a 3-time RMAC Individual Champion and 8-time All-RMAC performer, has earned. She was named as the RMAC’s Academic Athlete of the Year for all three seasons— cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field— of the 2010-11 academic year and has been named to the USTFCCCA’s All-Academic team three times in as many opportunities since transferring from Division I Baylor University before the 2009 cross country season.

For more information on the Elite 88 award winners, log on to NCAA.com/elite88.