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Michelle Karabin of Carnegie Mellon Earns Elite 90™ Award for NCAA Division III Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships

Michelle Karabin of Carnegie Mellon Earns Elite 90™ Award for NCAA Division III Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships
Posted: May 15, 2020

From Carnegie Mellon University Athletics

Michelle Karabin (Ruffs Dale, Pa. / Greensburg Central Catholic), a senior at Carnegie Mellon University, is the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2020 NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Karabin earned the honor for achieving a 4.0 GPA during her college career, majoring in mechanical and biomedical engineering. She will pursue her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh starting this fall.

The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.

Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and a designated member of the squad size at the championship. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.

Karabin is the first Tartan women's track and field athlete to receive the award and fourth Tartan. Other award winners included Justin Britton of men's swimming and diving in 2019 and Katie Cecil of women's tennis in 2013 and 2014.

The 2020 NCAA Women's Track and Field Championships were cancelled the day before competition due to COVID-19, but the NCAA still awarded the prestigious award. Karabin qualified for the championships in the pole vault following her indoor career-best mark of 3.72 meters at the Battle for the Obelisk versus Case Western Reserve University in January. It was her first trip to the indoor championships and her second to an NCAA championship, as she placed eighth and claimed All-America honors at the 2018 outdoor event.

For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, log on to NCAA.com/elite-90.