ELMHURST, Ill. - Alyssa Poremba and Kaitlyn Wilks have been selected as Elmhurst College's Co-Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

The award is presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete who excel in competition and in the classroom.,
 

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Poremba, a senior distance runner on the cross country and track and field teams, closed out her career as a two-time All-American at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She placed third in the 10,000 meters while setting a new school record time of 35:28.92. Two days later, Poremba placed seventh in the nation in the 5,000 meters with a school-record time of 16:41.95. Poremba earned four all-conference honors during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons and won three individual CCIW Championships including the indoor mile run, the indoor 3,000 meters, and the outdoor 5,000 meters. She was named a CCIW Track Athlete of the Week during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.,

During the cross country season, Poremba won three CCIW Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors while earning first-team all-conference honors with a second-place individual finish at the CCIW Championships. Poremba also earned all-region accolades with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional before placing 50th at the NCAA Championship.

A double major in accounting and exercise science, Poremba maintained a 3.91 grade-point average and was recognized with all-academic honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association,
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Wilks, a senior middle hitter on the volleyball team,earned honorable mention All-America honors for the second straight season after also receiving first-team all-region and all-conference honors for the second consecutive season. She ranked second on the squad in hitting percentage (.321), blocks (108) and blocks per set (0.76) while also ranking third on the squad in kills (344) and kills per set (2.44). Wilks was named to the all-tournament teams at the Elmhurst and CCIW Tournaments. Wilks led the CCIW in hitting percentage (.390 in conference games) while also ranking in the league's top-10 in kills.Wilks helped lead the Bluejays to a second-straight CCIW Championship, and a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays were ranked among the nation's top-10 teams all season long before closing the season with a loss in the NCAA Sweet 16.

An elementary education and psychology double major, Wilks maintained a grade-point average of 3.96.
Wilks was one of just six members selected to the Capital One Division III Academic All-American First-Team comprised of Division III volleyball players from across the nation.

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