Women's Basketball

UW-Whitewater’s Grundahl Named Judy Kruckman Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete

MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Aleah Grundahl has been named the recipient of the 2024 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Judy Kruckman Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete Award.
 
A senior from DeForest, Wis. (DeForest), Grundahl sustains a 3.506 grade point average and is majoring in elementary education with a minor in adaptive education. She is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and been recognized on UW-Whitewater’s Dean’s List and Honor Roll numerous semesters. She is also a recipient of UW-Whitewater’s Chancellor’s Scholar honor.
 
Grundahl secured WIAC Player of the Year distinction this season for the third consecutive year to become the first individual in conference history to accomplish the feat. She is a four-time All-WIAC first team selection and received Newcomer of the Year distinction in 2020. A two-time D3hoops.com (2022-Second, 2023-Third) and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-American (2022-Honorable Mention, 2023-First), she has helped the Warhawks earn NCAA tournament bids four times, including a national championship appearance in 2022 followed by a Sweet 16 showing in 2023. Grundahl was chosen the D3hoops.com Region 9 Player of the Year in 2023, as well as a participant in the WBCA All-Star Game and the UW-Whitewater Athlete of the Year. In 2022-23, her uniform was hanging in the Ring of Honor at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Grundahl set the program’s single-game scoring record with 39 points against UW-La Crosse on Feb. 10, 2024, and owns the WIAC all-time scoring mark with 1,864 points.
 
Grundahl has been a member of UW-Whitewater Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for four years and has volunteered at Fairhaven Senior Services. She has served as an administrative assistant for UW-Whitewater Recreation Sports, as well as a student teacher and substitute teacher.
 
Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-La Crosse’s Paige Schumann (Sr., Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam); UW-River Falls’ Kameri Meredith (Sr., Elk Mound, Wis./Colfax); UW-Stevens Point’s Josie Nies (Sr., Platteville, Wis./Platteville); and UW-Stout’s Amanda Giesen (Sr., New Prague, Minn./New Prague).

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. She was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.

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. The award is based on academic achievements, athletics accomplishments and involvement in other campus activities, organizations and community service projects.
 
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