BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Fiona Smith of the College of Saint Benedict cross country team and Olivia Thompson of the CSB volleyball team have been named the 10th and 11th student-athletes at CSB to earn MIAC Elite 22 Awards, which honors academic excellence matched with athletic success.

 

Smith, who earned her third straight USTFCCCA NCAA DIII North Region Athlete of the Year honor on Tuesday, Nov. 14, was honored by the league due to her extraordinary achievement as a student-athlete. The senior from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, has been one of the nation's top runners in competition and her work in the classroom as a mathematics major. She earned the Elite 22 Award for Cross Country for the second straight year.

Thompson earned the Elite 22 Award for volleyball. A biology major from Palm Harbor, Fla., she is also honored for her exceptional achievement in the classroom and on the volleyball court. She becomes the third student-athlete in volleyball to earn the honor, joining Hunter Weiss in 2018-19 and Kathryn Gaydos in 2013-14.

According to an announcement from the league, the MIAC Elite 22 Award recognizes the true essence of the term "student-athlete" by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in their sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among their peers. Modeled after the NCAA Elite 90 Award, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average (GPA) in each sport who meets similarly high, sport-specific athletic requirements.

In all sports with MIAC team postseason tournaments, including volleyball, the MIAC Elite 22 Award is presented to the individual with the highest GPA on the active postseason roster of a playoff-qualifying team. For cross country, the honor is bestowed upon the individual with the highest GPA among the top 15 individual finishers at the conference championship meet. Each winner must be a junior or senior and in at least their second full academic year at their current institution. Ties are broken by the number of credits earned at their institution.

Aside from Smith, who is CSB's second two-time honoree (Tracy Renier, 2020-21, 2021-22). and Thompson this year, CSB had two honorees in the same year in 2013-14 and 2021-22, and 2022-23. A year ago, Smith became the first in CSB cross country program history and Maria Bedford of CSB tennis was that program's first-ever honoree. In 2021-22, CSB had two recipients including Abby Willenbring of the soccer program and Renier of outdoor track and field. Renier also earned the 2020-21 outdoor track and field honor. Other honorees included Hunter Weiss of volleyball in 2018-19; Natalie Amundson of golf in 2016-17; Piper Murray of soccer and Kathryn Gaydos of volleyball in 2013-14.

Thompson helped lead CSB to a 17-10 overall record and 9-2 in the MIAC for second place. She finished the 2023 season with 53 kills and a .167 hitting mark. She had a high of eight kills against St. Scholastica on Sept. 30. She also had five serve aces and 47 digs to go with six total blocks. She had a high of 11 digs against Bethel on Oct. 4.

In her career, she totaled 71 games played and 205 sets, accumulating 326 kills, including a season high of 144 kills in 2021. She averaged 1.59 kills per set in her career with a .134 hitting mark. She also finished with five service aces, 177 digs, and 26 total blocks.

Smith, a senior from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, was announced the recipient of the USTFCCCA North Region Athlete of the Year honor on Nov. 14.  Along with teammate Annie Kiolbasa, Smith have been selected by the NCAA DIII Men's and Women's Track and Field/Cross Country Committee as participants for the NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pa.  Smith became the first-ever in recorded MIAC history to win three straight NCAA DIII North Region titles.

A year ago, Smith earned All-American honors for a second time in a runner-up finish a year ago at the NCAA DIII national championship meet. Smith, who was the NCAA DIII North Region Athlete of the Year in both 2021 and 2022, has dominated in every competition this year with six racing wins. This year, Smith has won four All-MIAC Athletes of the Week and two USTFCCA National Athlete of the Week honors. She has set course records at nearly every competition, established MIAC bests, and broken school records three times.

Smith is the first runner at the NCAA DIII level to twice crack sub-20 minutes in the 6K in the same year. At the Connecticut College Invite on Oct. 14, she set a course and school record with a 19:51.1 and then she set the MIAC championship record with a 19:55.1 in winning her third straight 6K individual title at the MIAC Championship on Oct. 28. Smith and, Kiolbasa helped lead CSB to third place in the team standings at the 2023 MIAC Championship.