Eastern Mennonite University senior Abigail Shelly (Collinsville, Miss./West Lauderdale) capped an outstanding first season of women’s triathlon by being named Scholar All-American.
The select group of honorees were selected by the College Triathlon Coaches Association.
Shelly holds a double major at EMU in education (English as Second Language Licensure) and liberal arts, along with a minor in honors, and has a 3.97 GPA. She was also the Royals’ top runner on the cross country team.
“This is an incredible honor,” said Shelly. “If this speaks to anything, I believe it is to my coaches and professors, as they have been incredible in the past year as they understood my need to balance and deep-dive into both athletics and academics. The classroom and the field are not mutually exclusive for me, and I’m grateful to go to a school that seems to get that.”
In the first year of EMU sponsoring the sport of triathlon, Shelly quickly excelled. She finished 13th at the National Championship, completing a 750m swim, 20k bike and 5k run in 1:19.38.
The CTCA awards the Scholar All-American designation to the top 20 finishers at the National Championship who have a GPA of 3.5 or better.
“Abigail serves the community, puts others first, and somehow is able to be a dedicated student and athlete,” said Coach Bob Hepler.
Congratulations Abigail! Your comment about overcoming boundaries between the classroom and other endeavors captures your values perfectly! Your future students will benefit from this holistic approach.
Congratulations, Abigail! Your dedication to both academics and sports is exceptional. I am certain you will also be an excellent teacher of children!