Monday, March 16, 2020
by Alaska Anchorage Athletic Communications

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska Anchorage senior Marie Ries was the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2020 NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship.

Ries, majoring in journalism, currently carries a 4.0 GPA. She is the third Seawolf to earn the Elite 90 Award, joining Casey Wright (skiing, 2019) and Yvonne Jeschke (cross country, 2019). She is the fourth GNAC student-athlete to earn the award over the last two years, joining Yeschke, Western Oregon's Tyler Jones (cross country, 2018) and Central Washington's Alexa Shindruk (cross country, 2018).

The Elite 90 Award 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 90 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, traveling and a designated member of the squad size at the championship. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.