Passionate about her studies, Crowell earns academic accolades

Kaitlin Crowell came to Montana in August 2014 wanting to play soccer, but also desiring an education.

Crowell was valedictorian at Mazama High School in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and never let that drive drop off. She's a three-time Academic All-Big Sky Conference selection – and a shoo-in to earn a fourth honor this winter – and takes the title of 'student-athlete' seriously, holding a 3.93 grade-point average.

Crowell, though, isn't just a good student, working hard to earn strong marks. What's most impressive about the dedicated student-athlete is her desire to be a good at something she's passionate about.

The senior is double majoring in psychology and cognitive neuroscience, with a minor in biology. She's expected to graduate with two majors and a minor in just four years, anticipating to walk across the stage this spring.

When she does so, in addition to likely being a four-time Academic All-Big Sky Conference selection, she will also have a CoSIDA Academic All-District honor next to her name.

The College Sports Information Directors of America announced its 2017 Academic All-District Women's Soccer Teams on Thursday, recognizing the top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Crowell was named to the District 7 second team.

The teams are divided into eight districts across the country. Montana's district includes all Division-I student-athletes from Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming.

Crowell is one of 26 players recognized from District 7, including the only Big Sky student-athlete.

"She's an outstanding young woman in everything she does," head coach Mark Plakorus said. "On the soccer field, she works as hard as she possibly can for her teammates and for herself, and when she's off the field she's very dedicated to her studies and very driven to being an excellent student.

"She's definitely an example of what a student-athlete is, and I'm really happy for her because it's great to be recognized for your hard work."

Crowell always had an interest in the medical field, but also enjoyed both psychology and science. She's still deciding what specific field she wants to get into, but medical school is an option.

"I want to help people," Crowell said. "Med school is an interest of mine, but so is research. You get to solve problems, and that's really interesting to me. There's so much about the brain that we don't know, and I want to learn more."

For some, school is a four-year detour to get to a destination, but for Crowell, it's something she genuinely enjoys.

"It's easy for me to spend a lot of time studying because I love learning and I enjoy school," she said. "Because of that, I've always been driven to learn more."

Montana soccer has earned plenty of accolades in the classroom, including 102 Academic All-Big Sky Conference selections during Plakorus' first six seasons. Additionally, the team has earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award – recognized for teams with a composite GPA above 3.0 – in eight consecutive seasons. This past year, Montana held a 3.53 team GPA.

Despite the vast amount of academic success, Thursday marks just the third time since 1999 that a Grizzly has earned CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition, with Crowell joining Misty Hall (1999) and Maddey Frey (2013).

"As much as we want to compete for championships and have great teams, the ultimate reason why our student-athletes come play at Montana is because they want to get a degree, and that will set them up for the rest of their lives," Plakorus said. "We try to set them up for success and ensure that they're getting the most out of their opportunities."

Crowell just concluded her senior season. On the field, she played in 69 games for the Griz, earning 40 starts. The midfielder/defender scored three goals and added an assist during her career, including the game-winning goal vs. San Jose State earlier this season. On defense, she helped Montana to one of the top averages in the country, limiting opponents to 0.76 goals per game. The figure was the best mark in the Big Sky Conference and the second-best in school history.

During her career, the Grizzlies won 40 games, the most over a four-year period since 1999-2002.

University of Montana Athletics

Passionate about her studies, Crowell earns academic accolades

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