Backel Named NCAA Top VIII Award Winner
January 4, 2011 SoonerSports.com NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma Track and Field alum Amy Backel was named one of eight recipients of the NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award the organization announced Tuesday. The two-time All-American and 2010 Big 12 champion in the javelin, Backel completed her Civil Engineering degree requirements with an overall 3.98 grade point average en route to becoming Oklahoma’s first ever, male or female, three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American. Backel was one of two track and field athletes nationally to receive the honor and the only student-athlete from the Big 12 Conference to do so. The NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award recognizes current student-athletes who will have completed their athletics eligibility for their success on the fields and courts, in the classroom and in the community. They will receive their award at the NCAA Honors Celebration on Jan. 14 at the 2011 NCAA Convention in San Antonio. The honorees are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, wh...