PORTLAND, Ore. – University of Portland junior Sofia Castiglioni is the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 award for the 2021 NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship, it was announced on Monday. The prestigious honor marks the first time any Pilot student-athlete has garnered the award from any sport at the university.
 
Castiglioni, a biology major, carries a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point average and is the current president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at Portland.
 
Earlier today she made her first appearance at the NCAA Championships, and was the third Portland runner to cross the line—164th place overall—on the way to the program's 22nd finish in the team scores. Castiglioni also competed on the Portland squad that finished in second place at the West Coast Conference Championships this year, coming in at 19th place individually.
 
"I'm really happy for Sofia to win this award," said head coach Ian Solof. "She works incredibly hard, is a great leader, and sets an amazing example in the classroom. She absolutely deserves this recognition and has earned every bit of it."
 
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. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed. For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, log on to https://www.ncaa.com/elite-90.
 
The last WCC student-athlete to capture the honor was Gonzaga's Nigel Williams-Goss who won in 2017 for men's basketball.