Academy grad named Mountain West Scholar-Athlete of Year

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  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The Mountain West Conference named a former Air Force Academy cadet as its Student Athlete of the Year for the 2014-2015 season on July 28.

Second Lt. Rebecca Esselstein, a 2015 Academy graduate, is the first Air Force track and field and cross country athlete to earn the conference award.

"We couldn't be more proud of Rebecca and all she accomplished at the Academy," said Dr. Jim Knowlton, the Academy's athletic director. "She is an outstanding role model for cadet-athletes and will be an outstanding role model to the Airmen she leads during her Air Force career."

Esselstein's first postseason award this year came from the College Information Directors of America in June, when that organization named her as the Capital One Academic All-American of the Year for Division I Women's Track and Field and Cross Country.

Last season, Esselstein competed in six scheduled cross country meets and changed the Academy record books. She recorded the second-fastest time in Academy history (11:49.14) in the 800-meter leg of the distance medley relay team and competed in three individual events: the 800-meter run, the mile run and the 1,500-meter run, and advanced to the finals of the 1,500-meter event at the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Esselstein is a three-time Capital One Academic All-American, an eight-time academic all-conference selection and an eight-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete.

She graduated from the Academy in May with a bachelor of science in astronautical engineering and a 3.98 GPA. Esselstein was recognized as the Academy's top cadet for the academic, military and athletic achievements that placed her at the top of the Class of 2015's 840 graduates.

The former cadet has been selected to receive a Rhodes scholarship and is scheduled to study astrophysics at the University of Oxford, England, in October.

"Rebecca represents the best of what we try to produce at the Air Force Academy," said the Academy's superintendent, Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson. "She completed a demanding four-year program in top-rate academics, athletics and military training, earning honors as the top graduate for the class of 2015. That she's received the Mountain West Scholar-Athlete of the Year award indicates her character and commitment to excellence, both on and off the field. She achieved tremendous success at the Academy and there are incredible things ahead for her as a Rhodes scholar and officer in the U.S. Air Force."