SEARCY – Harding University junior Katy Grant became the first Lady Bison track/cross country athlete in program history to earn ESPN the Magazine First-Team Academic All-America honors Friday. She also became the first Harding female student-athlete to earn consecutive Academic All-America honors.
A senior academically, Grant has one year of eligibility remaining for the 2009-10 school year.
Grant, a native of Mustang, Okla., opened her year by earning First-Team All-Gulf South Conference honors by placing seventh at the conference meet. She followed that with a 10th-place finish and All-South Region honors at the regional meet.
Grant ran two meets for the Lady Bisons during the indoor season, posting a second-place finish in the mile at Arkansas State, finishing in 5 minutes, 17.84 seconds.
The highlight of Grant's year can during the outdoor season. She ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase at Ole Miss in a school-record time of 10:36.83 and qualified for her second straight NCAA National Meet.
A social work major, Grant has a perfect 4.00 grade point average.
Grant joins Laura Tollett (2001, tennis) and Kendyl Washburn (2007, soccer) as the only Lady Bison student-athletes to earn First-Team Academic All-America honors. Prior to Grant's two honors, the last Harding women's track/cross country runner to earn Academic All-America was Kelly Lauterbach in 2000.
