NEW YORK – Seton Hall women’s cross country’s Lauren Ginefra (Budd Lake, N.J.) has been named the recipient of the 2021-22 BIG EAST Women’s Cross Country Sport Excellence Award.

The Sport Excellence Awards are given to one student-athlete in each BIG EAST-sponsored sport based on academic credentials, athletic accolades or performances and volunteer service to the community. Student-athletes who have attained junior academic standing and a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 are eligible. The winners are chosen by the BIG EAST Faculty Athletics Representative Council.

Last season, Ginefra recorded top-five team finishes in each of the final seven races of the season. Her best finish came at the Metropolitan Championships, as her 20:34.3 5k time was the second-best on the Pirates. Overall, Ginefra had five top-20 finishes and three top-15 times on the season.

Ginefra graduated this May with a degree in Biology, earning a 3.637 GPA during her time at Seton Hall. A four-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree, Ginefra was part of a women’s cross country team that achieved a perfect NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 1000 for a seventh straight year. Seton Hall athletic programs as a whole boasted a 3.506 cumulative GPA in 2021-22, marking the 12th straight year with a record-high in grade point average.