Dinsmore Earns NCAA Elite 89 Award in Track and Field

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University senior Jaela Dinsmore (Hines, OR/Burns HS) has received the NCAA Elite 89 Award in Division III women's outdoor track and field for the 2011-12 season. The Elite 89 Award is presented at each of the 89 NCAA national championship events to the competing student-athlete with the highest grade point average.

Dinsmore is competing this week in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in Claremont, Calif.

She placed 11th in the 200-meter dash on Thursday, May 24 with a personal record time of 24.62 seconds. She earned a time of 12.12 seconds in the preliminary heats of the 100-meter dash on Friday and will compete in the 100-meter finals on Saturday.

Dinsmore is the second Willamette athlete to receive an NCAA Elite award. Chris Platano '10 earned the NCAA Elite 88 award for Division III men's cross country in 2009. Since then, the NCAA has added an 89th national championship.

While completing a double major in Latin American Studies and Spanish, Dinsmore has achieved a 3.99 cumulative GPA. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received Third Team Capital One Academic All-America and First Team Capital One Academic All-District honors in 2011 and has been nominated for Academic All-District and Academic All-America recognition again this season.

Dinsmore recently received the Jean Williams Award from Willamette University. The award is presented annually by the Athletics Department to a graduating senior female student-athlete who has developed and demonstrated strong leadership skills and outstanding athleticism, while maintaining a high rank of scholarship during her collegiate career.

She also was honored as the Women's Senior Scholar-Athlete at Willamette for having the highest cumulative grade point average among graduating seniors on the Bearcats' women's athletic teams.

On the track, Dinsmore took first place in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at this year's NWC Championships. She also helped WU earn second place in the 4 x 100-meter relay and the 4 x 400-meter relay. She previously won the NWC 400-meter championship in 2011 and helped WU win the 4 x 400-meter relay in 2009 and 2010.

Prior to the NCAA Championships, she was ranked nationally on the NCAA Division III performance list this year at 100 meters (12.09 seconds, 19th tie), 200 meters (24.77 seconds, 18th tie) and 400 meters (57.54 seconds, 45th). She is ranked on Willamette's all-time Top 10 list for all three distances, as she holds second in the 100 and 200, and is sixth in the 400.