ST. LOUIS – For the second year in a row, Purple Aces runner Kelby Jenkins was named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team.
 
Jenkins, an accounting major, holds a perfect 4.0 GPA at the University of Evansville. 
 
The Missouri Valley Conference has announced the 2013 Cross Country Scholar-Athlete Teams, following the completion of the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship last weekend in Des Moines, Iowa, at the Blank Park Golf Course.
 
Scholar-Athlete honors require athletes to meet performance standards, as they must finish among the first 20 runners at the conference championship and hold at least a cumulative 3.2 GPA and be a sophomore in athletic and academic standing to earn a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete team.
 
Seventeen women's student-athletes met the criteria, while six student-athletes are on the men's team.  Four student-athletes hold a perfect 4.00 GPA, with two coming from Southern Illinois and one each from Bradley and Evansville.  Loyola has the most honorees on the men's side, with two.  For the women, Southern Illinois has six student-athletes that have earned the honor while Illinois State has four on the team.
 
Jenkins' honor marks the seventh time a UE runner has made the MVC Scholar Athlete Team and she became just the second female to do so for the Aces in 2012.  UE Hall of Fame Nick Waninger won the honor on three occasions.