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Parkite wins NCAA Elite 89 award

Courtesy University of New Hampshire Athletics
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Elizabeth Guiney isn’t sure what she wants to do with her genetics degree yet, but the Park City Nordic skier, who skis for the University of New Hampshire, should have plenty of options after posting a 3.988 GPA.

Guiney had the highest GPA of all the competitors at the Division I Ski Championships, earning the NCAA Elite 89 award for her sport, an award that honors the athlete with the highest GPA at each of the 89 NCAA championships.

Though grad school and a career in genetics is likely in Guiney’s future, those plans will have to wait. For now, the UNH senior, who graduated from Park City High School in 2009 and is a Park City Nordic Ski Team alum, will focus on continuing her skiing career.

"Hopefully I can get on a professional ski team and keep skiing," she said. "Then hopefully I can keep moving on to the next level."

She said she’s happy with the way her college career ended. She placed 16th in the 15K skate-style race and 33rd in the 5K classic race at the NCAA Championships at Middlebury College March 6-9.

Overall, she thought she could have done better, but won’t complain about the results.

"I was pretty happy with the skate race," she said. "I was hoping to get in the top 10, but all things considered, it was a good result."

She counts it as one of the best results of her collegiate career.

"It’s definitely had its ups and downs," she said of her career. "Overall it’s been a really good experience."

She added that being able to share her success with teammate Anya Bean, who placed sixth in the skate race, made it more memorable.

Guiney was also named to the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s All-Academic team for the fourth year in a row and earned her third-straight All-East Second Team honors. She is also a member of Team USA’s U-23 Nordic team.


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