EMPORIA, Kan.— On a day that saw her place fifth to earn her fifth career all-America honor, Colorado Mesa University senior high jumper Josie Coffey picked up even more prestigious hardware, receiving the NCAA Elite 90 Award for NCAA Division II Women's Outdoor Track & Field.
 
The honor goes to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average competing at each of the NCAA's 90 national championships across all divisions and all sports.
 
Coffey is the first Maverick women and just the third CMU student-athlete in any sport to ever win the honor joining 2-time award winner and men's teammate Justin Thompson (2021 & 2022 Indoor) and former Maverick baseball standout Kyle Leahy (2017), who now pitches for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball.
 
Coffey is a native of Lakewood, Colorado and is a Bear Creek High School graduate.  She is majoring in political science and has a perfect 4.0 GPA in her four years at CMU.
 
Coffey has also won a variety of other academic awards throughout her career, twice being named as an Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators, formerly known as CoSIDA.  She will be nominated for a third straight honor this year.
 
Coffey has also been named to the Rocky Mountain All-Academic First Team in all five seasons that she has been eligible and is a virtual lock to earn a sixth such honor next week.
 
She will also be nominated for a fourth straight USTFCCCA All-Academic Team this summer.