Lauren Penkala of the women's cross country team was selected as the recipient of the Total Package Award, sponsored by Anastasia Fitness, for the 2017 fall sports season.
The award is presented on a seasonal basis to the student-athlete who excels in each of the following: athletics, academics, character, sportsmanship, personal fitness and community involvement.
"In addition to carrying a high grade point average for the semester, Lauren is a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and a captain of the women’s cross country team," said head cross country coach Brian Beil. "She logged hundreds of running miles over the summer months to put herself in a great position going into the 2017 season. Because of these summer miles, and in no small part her tremendous attitude and work ethic during the season, Lauren improved her time for the 5,000m distance by over a minute.Â
"Her fourth place finish with a time of 18:01.9 at the Peach Belt Conference Championship would not only be good enough for all-conference honors, but also land her on the Top 25 list of all-time fastest performances in the 5k for the first time in her career. She went from being unranked on the all-time list all the way up to the fourth-fastest 5k ever run in program history. Lauren would go on to finish 17th at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships, earning all-region honors, and will later be named to the all-academic team based on that performance in conjunction with her strong GPA here at Flagler."Â Â
