EDINBORO, Pa. — IUP junior Noah Mandel (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) earned the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Men's Indoor Track & Field Champion Scholar Award, which the league presented to him prior to the PSAC championship Sunday evening.
 
RELATED | IUP's PSAC Champion Scholar history
 
The PSAC Champion Scholar Awards are modeled after the NCAA's Elite 90 award and honor the student-athlete with the top grade point average who is competing at the site of each of the PSAC's 23 team championship finals. The selection criteria for the Champion Scholar Awards is identical to that of the NCAA Elite 89 awards, which honor the student-athlete with the top GPA at each of the championship finals sites of the 90 NCAA championships across all three divisions – I, II, and III.
 
Long is working toward his degree exercise science (pre-physical therapy), boasting a 3.95 GPA.
 
Mandel and teammate Jessica Jones represent IUP's 25th and 26th PSAC Champion Scholars. He is the fifth men's track and field athlete in IUP history to receive the honor. Men's track and field now leads the IUP program with the most athletes to be named scholars.
 
IUP boasts the most PSAC Champion Scholars of any school in the conference since the award came into existence during the 2011-2012 academic year. Three other IUP athletes received the honor this year: Colter Long, swimming; Sean Bowling, football; Allyson Dryer, cross country.

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