Bigos Named Conference Winner for NCAA Woman of the Year
Bigos Named Conference Honoree for the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year Award
CHICOPEE, MA, Aug. 17, 2009 - Recent Elms College
graduate Jill Bigos (South Hadley, MA)
was named New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) honoree for the
2009 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
NCAA schools nominated 418 individuals for the national award, which reflects the growth in opportunity for women to achieve as students, leaders and athletes.
Bigos, a standout cross country runner for the Blazers from 2005-08, also earned the 2009 Froehlich Award of Excellence.
The Dr. Joachim Froehlich Award of Excellence honors one male
and one female senior student athlete annually for his or her
athletic excellence throughout their intercollegiate career.
Further, in the spirit of Dr. Joachim Froehlich, the successful
candidate will be well rounded by achieving academic success as
well as athletic, have a full understanding of the College's
mission and be an inspiration to their teammates and coaches. 
Bigos placed second among 49 runners at the 2008 NECC Championship in a time of 21:31 to earn First Team All-NECC honors. Earlier in the season, she posted an impressive 58th place finish in the 206-runner field at the James Earley Invitational. In 2007, she finished 10th in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship, earning Second Team All-Conference honors.
Off the trails, Bigos was a dedicated student. She maintained the highest GPA of her class and was actively involved in tutoring and research projects during her four years at Elms.
