Women’s track and field earns academic awards

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) recently released its list of academic award winners for the 2021-22 women’s track and field season. Not only did the Kenyon College Owls make the grade as a team, but Emma Becker and Paula Soric earned individual recognition as All-Academic Athletes.

To be eligible for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, a program had to produce a minimum team grade point average of 3.10. The Owls checked in with a combined team grade point average of 3.66, easily clearing that hurdle. It marked the 13th time in program history that the Kenyon women earned the team award. 

For the individual All-Academic Athlete awards, Becker and Soric, as well as the rest of the honorees, had to compile a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.30 and had to compete in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship and/or had to finish the regular season ranked in the national top-50 in an individual event or ranked in the national top-35 in a relay event.

Becker, a senior and distance specialist on the 2021-22 Kenyon team, cranked out a best time of 18:12.46 in the 5,000-meter run during the indoor season. That time was 13th best in the Great Lakes Region. During the outdoor campaign, Becker ran the 10,000-meter in 37:20.21, which was 11th best in the Great Lakes Region and 46th best among all runners in NCAA Division III.

Soric, a first-year during the 2021-22 campaign, excelled in the triple jump. During the year, she set the Kenyon indoor record at 37 feet 7 ¼ inches and the outdoor record at 38 feet 3 ½ inches. Her indoor best ranked third in the Great Lakes Region and 33rd among all NCAA Division III student-athletes. Her outdoor best ranked third in the Great Lakes region and 47th in NCAA Division III.