PORTLAND, Ore. --- Senior distance runner Anna Farello has been awarded the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for the 2016-17 year, the NCAA announced earlier this week.
 
Farello has been a significant contributor to the women's cross country and track and field program during her four-year career at UP. She earned All-Academic honorable mention in 2014, 2015, and 2016. In the 2016 cross country season, she also earned All-WCC honorable mention where she placed 12^th overall at the conference championships to help the Pilots claim the league team title for the first time since 2008. Farello also raced top times at the Roy Griak Invitational for a first-place team finish, launching the Pilots to their highest ever program national ranking at No. 5. At the West Regional she finished 28^th overall to help the Pilots place fifth and earn program's first ever at-large bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, where they placed 22^nd.
 
Farello has also made her mark in the UP record books, ranking third and fourth all-time in the indoor 3000m and 5000m with times of 9:24.17 and 16:34.55, respectively. In the outdoor records, she ranks third all-time in the 10,000m (34:03.67) and seventh in both the 1500m (4:25.73) and 5000m (16:26.16).
 
An active member of SAAC, she has helped lead the women's cross country team academically, consistently claiming the highest team GPA in the fall of 2014 (3.62), and in the spring of 2015 (3.71) and 2016 (3.68). In the 2015-16 year, the team was also recognized by the NCAA for having the second highest team GPA nationally (3.671).

"This is a huge accomplishment for Anna and I am so proud of her," said Portland head coach Ian Solof. "She truly embodies what our program is about with her commitment level, athletic development, and academic success. I am thankful she joined our team because she has helped improve it in every way. We simply wouldn't be as good without her."
 
Each year, the NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. In each sports season there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women for use in an accredited graduate program.
 
All former student-athletes who earned an undergraduate degree from an NCAA member school are eligible to be nominated by that school for an NCAA graduate degree scholarship, regardless of when they received their undergraduate degree.