Stacia Beste, a member of the Illinois State track and field team, was named the Female Missouri Valley Conference/Prairie Farms Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the period of April 29-May 5 following her performance in the 10,000-meter run at the Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif., on Friday, May 3.
The Shorewood, Wisc., native shattered both the Valley and Illinois State record in the event with a time of 34:08.22. Beste also automatically qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championhips with her time, which will be hosted by Louisiana State in Baton Rouge, La., on May 30-June 2.
Beste, a graduate student,is majoring in psychology and carries a 3.90 cumulative grade-point average. This is the second time she has received the honor this year.
In addition to Beste, Illinois State seniors Christian Goy, Robert Breit and junior Jen Klostermann have all also received Scholar-Athlete of the Week recognition for the Illinois State cross country/track and field team during the current academic year.
The Valleys Scholar-Athlete program honors conference scholar-athlete performance for their athletic performance for a one-week period and academic success in the classroom. The program began during the 1999-2000 academic year.
The criteria for being named a Valley/Prairie Farms Scholar-Athlete include having a 3.00 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.00 scale). Student-athletes must have reached sophomore academic standing and have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.
