PITTSBURG, Kan. – Zoe Baker, a redshirt junior for the Colorado School of Mines Women's Track & Field team, received the Elite 90 award for a second time in her career late Friday evening for the 2022 NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Baker claimed the award as a double major in computer science and applied mathematics with an unblemished 4.00 grade-point average. 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. That means no other women's student-athlete competing in Pittsburg, Kan., on Friday or Saturday has a higher GPA than Baker. Baker is the seventh Oredigger to ever claim the Elite 90 honor, and the first student-athlete from Mines to win it twice. The last Orediggers not named Zoe Baker to win the Elite 90 were Megan Wenham and Ben Schneiderman sweeping the men's and women's accolades at the 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
The Longmont, Colo., native won the Elite 90 on the same day that she finished #6 in the nation in the women's 5,000-meter run. Baker appeared on the podium and garnered First-Team All-America status by shattering her own program record with a time of 16:16.02. She is slated to run the 3,000-meter race on Saturday at 7:25 p.m. (CT).
 
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. Student-athletes may only win an Elite 90 award once in their career.
Mines continues and closes its trip to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championships on Saturday afternoon starting with Grant Redmond in the high jump at 3:30 p.m. (CT). Live stats and video will be linked at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines track & field on Twitter and Instagram at @csmtrack. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.