UW-Eau Claire’s Reineck and UW-Stout’s Meier Share Women’s Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete Award
**Pictured above: Jerec Dorschner, Assistant Vice President from Badgerland Financial in Mondovi, Wis., presents Reineck and Meier with the Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Jessica Reineck and UW-Stout’s Lydia Meier have been selected co-recipients of the 2017 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Judy Kruckman Women's Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete Award. The award is sponsored by Badgerland Financial.
A senior from Greenville, Wis. (Fox Valley Lutheran), Reineck boasts a 3.92 grade point average and is majoring in athletic training. She is a three-time member of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team and been recognized on the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll the last three years. Reineck has received Dean’s List plaudits from UW-Eau Claire numerous semesters and earned academic scholarships.
She is a three-time indoor All-American, as a member of the 1,600-meter relay teams in 2015 (second) and 2016 (seventh), and adding a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter dash last year. She was named her team’s Newcomer of the Year in 2013 and owns the school record in the 1,600-meter relay.
Reineck is a member of the National Athletic Trainer’s Association, Eau Claire Emergency Medical Corps, Wisconsin Athletic Trainer’s Association and UW-Eau Claire’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Meier, a senior from Middleton, Wis., is majoring in cross-media graphics management with a minor in business administration and maintains a 3.70 grade point average. A three-time member of the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team and WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll, she has received UW-Stout’s Chancellor’s Award for Academic Excellence many times.
Meier won the WIAC title in the 20-pound weight throw for the second straight season. A year ago, she finished second at the NCAA Division III Championship in the event to secure All-America accolades. Meier ranks ninth on the all-time NCAA Division III list for the 20-pound weight throw with a heave of 62-9 1/2 at last year’s WIAC championship. She was named UW-Stout’s MVP Field Athlete a season ago and holds the school record in the 20-pound weight throw.
Meier has been vice-president of UW-Stout’s SAAC for three years and will serve as the conference SAAC president during the 2017-18 academic year. She is a member of the Kappa Lamda Beta Service Sorority and has volunteered with Special Olympics, as well as a campus bone marrow registry.
Also nominated for this year's scholar-athlete award were: UW-La Crosse’s Kaitlyn McDaniel (Jr., Kaukauna, Wis.); UW-Oshkosh’s Kristen Linzmeier (Jr., Hilbert, Wis./Chilton); UW-Platteville’s Devan Montgomery (So., Stoughton, Wis.); UW-River Falls’ Abigail Fouts (Sr., Eagan, Minn./Eastview); and UW-Whitewater’s Leah Richter (Sr., Fond du Lac, Wis.).
The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Judy Kruckman who served as Assistant Commissioner for the WIAC from 1996-98. Prior to this appointment, she was Commissioner of the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WWIAC) from October, 1984 - September, 1996. Kruckman was the women's athletics director at UW-Eau Claire from 1974-84, and one of the original representatives to the WWIAC when it formed in 1971.
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, she must be in her last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.
Badgerland Financial, headquartered in Prairie du Sac, Wis., is a customer-owned financial cooperative proud to finance the growth of agriculture and rural America. Badgerland Financial is one of the region's leading providers of credit, crop insurance, tax and accounting services to farmers, agribusinesses and rural residents. The company is committed to delivering on its vision to cultivate prosperity for agriculture and rural Wisconsin by serving member-owners through offices in 33 southern Wisconsin counties. To learn more, visit badgerlandfinancial.com.
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