Greensboro, NC (May 28, 2021) - Senior Matthew Kraus was awarded one of the NCAA's highest honors on Friday afternoon as the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2021 NCAA Division III men's outdoor track & field championship.

This is the second time Kraus has earned this honor after also receiving the award at the NCAA Division III Indoor T&F Championships last season.  It is also the second time a DeSales student-athlete has earned the award.

Kraus is a senior biology major with a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA entering the championship.  He has qualified for the championship event in the 800-meters and will run in the preliminaries Friday afternoon at 4:15 pm.

The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA and started in 2009-10, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.

Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and a designated member of the squad size at the championship. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.

For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, log on to NCAA.com/elite-90.  To view a list of the all-time winners in Division III click here.