Rebecca Esselstein Named Class of 2015's Top Graduate
5/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force distance runner Rebecca Esselstein was named the top overall graduate for the Class of 2015, which honors excellence in academic, military and athletic performance. Esselstein, a Rhodes Scholar and recipient of the Marshall Scholarship, was also named the top cadet, academically, among the Academy's 840 graduates.
Esselstein is the 38th cadet in Air Force history to be named a Rhodes Scholar. An astronautical engineering major with a 3.98 GPA (4.0 in major), she was a member of the USAFA Scholars Program and a four-time member of the elite Dean's Aces List for maintaining a perfect 4.0 semester GPA. A member of the Commandant's List (military excellence) and Dean's List (academic excellence) every semester, Esselstein was named to the Superintendent's List (overall excellence) and Athletic Director's List (athletic excellence) during seven of eight semesters.
A two-time CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American - and on the national ballot for her third straight award - Esselstein has combined for eight academic all-conference awards and eight Mountain West Scholar-Athlete selections as a member of both the cross country and track/field teams.
As a member of the Falcons' cross country and track teams, she competed in all six of the Falcons' cross country meets in the fall and impacted the Academy record book during the track and field season. A member of the distance medley relay team that won the MW championship in 2013, she ran the 800-meter leg of the DMR team that recorded the second-fastest time in Academy history (11:49.14, adjusted for altitude) this past season. Individually, Esselstein competed in three events this year - 800-meter run, mile run, 1500-meter run - and advanced to the finals of the 1500-meter event at the conference championships.
Two of the top three cadets in this year's graduating class are from the track and field team, as 400-meter hurdler Siotame Latu was named the top cadet in terms of athletic performance.
Players Mentioned
