EDINBORO, Pa. -- Kutztown University's Sophia Knerr (Columbia, N.J./North Warren Regional) earned the 2025 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's (PSAC) Women's Cross Country Champion Scholar Award, the conference office announced on Saturday at the conclusion of the 2025 PSAC Women's Cross Country Championship in Edinboro, Pa.

Knerr, a graduate student from Columbia, N.J., has maintained a 4.0 grade point average through 152 credits while studying social work. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in social work in December of 2024 before embarking on her graduate program.
 
The PSAC Champion Scholar Awards are modeled after the NCAA's Elite Scholar-Athlete Award (formerly Elite 90 Award) and honor the student-athlete with the top grade point average who is competing at the site of each of the PSAC's finals sites. The selection criteria for the Champion Scholar Awards is identical to that of the NCAA Elite Scholar-Athlete Awards, which honor the student-athlete with the top GPA at each of the championship finals sites of the 90 NCAA championships across all three divisions – I, II, and III.

Knerr was also honored as the 2025 PSAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Champion Scholar award winner back in May. She is Kutztown's first recipient of the award in women's cross country since the PSAC introduced the awards beginning with the 2011-12 academic year.

Knerr ran to a 28th-place finish and All-PSAC Second Team honors for the fourth time during Saturday's PSAC Championships.

The Golden Bears will compete in the NCAA DII Atlantic Region Championships in Lock Haven on Saturday, Nov. 8.