Rebeka Stowe Selected to Big 12 Community of Champions

Feb. 8, 2012

LAWRENCE, Kan. – KU track and field’s Rebeka Stowe has been selected as a Big 12 Conference Chick-Fil-A Community of Champions honoree for the 2011-12 winter season. The conference recognizes one athlete from each institution, regardless of sport, based on academics, community service and leadership/sportsmanship.

Stowe, a senior distance specialist from Olathe, Kan., is a four-year letterwinner for the Jayhawks in both cross country and track and field and has already left her mark as one of the top female distance runners in the program’s history. An All-American on the track and an All-Big 12 performer on the cross country trails, Stowe will graduate from KU in May with a long list of athletic accolades. She is a two-time All-Big 12 selection for the women’s cross country team and has also twice garnered all-region honors. On the track, she is the school-record holder in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase, the same event in which she earned First Team All-American honors last June. As a sophomore, she also helped lead the women’s distance medley relay team to an All-American distinction at the 2010 Outdoor NCAA Championships.

Not only has Stowe excelled on the track, but she is just as driven and successful in the classroom. A health and physical education major, she has maintained a GPA of over 3.5 each semester of her KU career. Stowe has made the Academic All-Big 12 First Team five times and, following the 2010 cross country season, she was recognized as a U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honoree. Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) also added her to the Academic All-District team in the spring of 2011. Furthermore, she has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s and Athletics Director’s Honor Rolls every semester while at Kansas.

Despite her busy schedule of practice, meets and class, Stowe has found time to contribute to her community as well, participating in events such as Special Olympics, numerous food drives and organizing several events as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Chick-fil-A will donate $4,500 to the University of Kansas for Stowe’s efforts.