Shippensburg field hockey junior Kristen Brooks became the inaugural recipient of the NCAA’s Elite 88 award last week at the annual banquet for the Division II Field Hockey Championship. The award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the site of a national championship competition. 

Brooks is a marketing and international management major who has compiled a 3.96 grade-point average through four full semesters of coursework. She has twice been selected to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II National Academic Team.

The NCAA established the Elite 88 Award to honor the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national-championship level while also having achieved the highest academic standard. It is presented to one student-athlete at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 88 championships.

Shippensburg completed its season with a 4-2 loss in the national semifinals November 13 to top-ranked Bloomsburg.