Army West Point Athletics
Tovkach Collects Second Consecutive Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award
May 17, 2022 | Women's Track and Field
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Senior Anna Tovkach has been named the Patriot League Outdoor Women's Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second straight season. The Black Knights have been the recipient of the award for four straight seasons; Lynne Mooradian (2018-19) and Tovkach (2021-22).
Tovkach, a native of Gainesville, Fla., will leave West Point as the most dominant and decorated middle-distance runner in the history of the women's track and field program. She holds seven Army program records, including four individual and three on relays, and appears on the Army top-10 list 21 times in nine events which are most in program history. She is a seven-time varsity letter winner, a five-time Army-Navy champion, and an 18-time Patriot League scorer, including winning six Patriot League titles.
After another impressive indoor season where she set the program record in the 800m en route to winning the event, Tovkach finished first in five events during the outdoor season competing in primary the 400m, 800m, and 4x400m relay. She placed first in all three of the events at the Ben Brown Invite. She placed first in the 400m at the West Point Spring Open and the Army/Navy Star Meet. She broke a 17-year-old program record in the 400m (54.88) to win place first at the Larry Ellis Invitational. She also broke her school record in the 800m to place second at the Larry Ellis Invitational. At the 2022 Patriot League Outdoor Championships she captured the gold medal in the 800m and was a member of the first-place 4x400m relay team.
She is a team captain and the 2021-22 Brigade Executive Officer. A four-time Academic All-League selection, she carries a 4.0 cumulative GPA as an environmental engineering major and will attend Stanford University to pursue a Master of Science in civil and environmental engineering.
"We fought a long and hard recruiting battle to get Anna Tovkach to attend West Point. It was the spring of 2018 and as is so often the case with service academy kids, she had narrowed her choice to either the United States Military Academy or the United States Naval Academy. She was definitely on the fence and I felt like we needed to take things to another level to swing the pendulum our way so we reached out to the Dean of the Academy, General Cindy Jebb, and asked her to give Anna a call. The rest, as they say, is history," said head coach Mike Smith. "I don't know if that phone call swung things our way because recruiting is such a fickle business but in the end, we demonstrated to her that we as an institution were "all in" on Anna Tovkach. Since arriving here in the summer of 2018, Anna has been "all in" on West Point. She possesses a rare combination of leadership, academic aptitude, and athletic grit. She is the Deputy Brigade commander, she is a Knight Hennessey Scholarship award winner to Stanford University, and she is the best female middle-distance runner in the history of the Academy. This award is just one in a long line of accolades for Anna. Hers has been one of the most remarkable outdoor seasons of any Army woman in recent memory. And it is not over. On Saturday, Anna will graduate from the preeminent leadership institution in the world and then she will shift her focus back to the track and tackle the challenge of competing against the best athletes in the world at the NCAA preliminary round. She will pursue excellence at that meet in the same way she has pursued everything else in her life, with vigor. We are lucky to have her in our program and proud of her achievements."
Classmate Hannah Blakey was also named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team. Blakey, who holds a 4.0 GPA while majoring in Persian and French, Is the Brigade Executive Officer in the Corps of Cadets as well as President of a leadership initiative for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Blakey is a 2022 Rhodes Scholar.
Voting for the Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athletes of the Year and Academic All-League Teams are conducted by the League's outdoor track and field sports information directors.
The Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for each sport comprises the pool of nominees for the Patriot League Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards given out over the summer. One male and one female are selected for this honor. To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and be a starter or key player in their sport. Freshmen or students in their first academic year at their institution are not eligible for the honor.
Tovkach, a native of Gainesville, Fla., will leave West Point as the most dominant and decorated middle-distance runner in the history of the women's track and field program. She holds seven Army program records, including four individual and three on relays, and appears on the Army top-10 list 21 times in nine events which are most in program history. She is a seven-time varsity letter winner, a five-time Army-Navy champion, and an 18-time Patriot League scorer, including winning six Patriot League titles.
After another impressive indoor season where she set the program record in the 800m en route to winning the event, Tovkach finished first in five events during the outdoor season competing in primary the 400m, 800m, and 4x400m relay. She placed first in all three of the events at the Ben Brown Invite. She placed first in the 400m at the West Point Spring Open and the Army/Navy Star Meet. She broke a 17-year-old program record in the 400m (54.88) to win place first at the Larry Ellis Invitational. She also broke her school record in the 800m to place second at the Larry Ellis Invitational. At the 2022 Patriot League Outdoor Championships she captured the gold medal in the 800m and was a member of the first-place 4x400m relay team.
She is a team captain and the 2021-22 Brigade Executive Officer. A four-time Academic All-League selection, she carries a 4.0 cumulative GPA as an environmental engineering major and will attend Stanford University to pursue a Master of Science in civil and environmental engineering.
"We fought a long and hard recruiting battle to get Anna Tovkach to attend West Point. It was the spring of 2018 and as is so often the case with service academy kids, she had narrowed her choice to either the United States Military Academy or the United States Naval Academy. She was definitely on the fence and I felt like we needed to take things to another level to swing the pendulum our way so we reached out to the Dean of the Academy, General Cindy Jebb, and asked her to give Anna a call. The rest, as they say, is history," said head coach Mike Smith. "I don't know if that phone call swung things our way because recruiting is such a fickle business but in the end, we demonstrated to her that we as an institution were "all in" on Anna Tovkach. Since arriving here in the summer of 2018, Anna has been "all in" on West Point. She possesses a rare combination of leadership, academic aptitude, and athletic grit. She is the Deputy Brigade commander, she is a Knight Hennessey Scholarship award winner to Stanford University, and she is the best female middle-distance runner in the history of the Academy. This award is just one in a long line of accolades for Anna. Hers has been one of the most remarkable outdoor seasons of any Army woman in recent memory. And it is not over. On Saturday, Anna will graduate from the preeminent leadership institution in the world and then she will shift her focus back to the track and tackle the challenge of competing against the best athletes in the world at the NCAA preliminary round. She will pursue excellence at that meet in the same way she has pursued everything else in her life, with vigor. We are lucky to have her in our program and proud of her achievements."
Classmate Hannah Blakey was also named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team. Blakey, who holds a 4.0 GPA while majoring in Persian and French, Is the Brigade Executive Officer in the Corps of Cadets as well as President of a leadership initiative for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Blakey is a 2022 Rhodes Scholar.
Voting for the Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athletes of the Year and Academic All-League Teams are conducted by the League's outdoor track and field sports information directors.
The Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for each sport comprises the pool of nominees for the Patriot League Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards given out over the summer. One male and one female are selected for this honor. To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and be a starter or key player in their sport. Freshmen or students in their first academic year at their institution are not eligible for the honor.
2022 Patriot League Women's Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Anna Tovkach, Army West Point, Sr., Middle Distance, Gainesville, Fla./Eastside
2022 Women's Outdoor Track and Field Academic All-Patriot League Team
Anna Tovkach, Army West Point, Sr.
Hannah Blakey, Army West Point, Sr.
Andrea Claeson, Boston University, Sr.
Emma Montoya, Boston University, Sr.
Karly Forker, Bucknell, Sr.
Rachel Schaaf, Colgate, Sr.
Hetty McMillan, Lehigh, Sr.
Ellie Abraham, Navy, So.
Katie Halbert, Navy, Sr.
Sabrina Sutter, Navy, Jr.
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Track and Field
Mid. Distance
/ Women's Track and FieldWednesday, May 27
Saturday, May 23
Monday, May 11
Thursday, April 30