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Former UW-Oshkosh standout track-and-field and cross country athlete gets Hall of Fame honor

from staff reports
·2 min read
Elizabeth (Woodworth) Kujawa
Elizabeth (Woodworth) Kujawa

OSHKOSH – A former University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh standout track-and-field and cross country athlete is being inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s NCAA Division III Athlete Hall of Fame as part of the 2023 class.

Elizabeth (Woodworth) Kujawa is one of the most decorated student-athletes in NCAA Division III history. She was a 12-time All-American in track and field, including a nine-time national champion, and a three-time All-American in cross country from 2000 to 2004.

She won three consecutive indoor and outdoor 800-meter run titles from 2002 to 2004 to become the only athlete in NCAA Division III history to accomplish that feat.

Kujawa was dominant in her 800-meter victory at the NCAA Championships, setting five facility records and winning by an average margin of 2.75 seconds.

She ended her collegiate career as the third-best performer in NCAA Division III history in the outdoor 800. She still holds the school records in the indoor 1,500-meter run and the outdoor 3,200-meter relay.

Kujawa also stood out in cross country, finishing individual national runner-up twice in 2003 and 2004.

Her numerous individual accolades include 2004 Division III Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, the 2002 and 2004 Midwest Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, 2004 WIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in both cross country and track and field, and three consecutive CoSIDA Academic All-America awards from 2003 to 2005 in both indoor and outdoor track and field.

A 2004 United States Olympic Team qualifier in the 1,500-meter run, the Marinette High School graduate was selected to the NCAA Division III Silver Anniversary Team in 2006 in addition to the WIAC All-Centennial Teams for cross country and track and field.

After graduating from UW-Oshkosh in 2005, Kujawa went on to compete at several USA Track & Field events, including National Club Cross Country in 2005 and 2006; Outdoor Track & Field Nationals in 2005, 2006 and 2007; and Cross Country 4K Nationals in 2006. She was inducted into the UW-Oshkosh Hall of Fame in 2018.

Others in the USTFCCCA's 2023 Hall of Fame class include Ryan Bak of Trinity College, Uzoma Orji of MIT, Kym Orr of SUNY Fredonia, Healy Thompson of Williams and Nancy (Cisar) Nelson of Central (Iowa).

More details are at https://www.ustfccca.org/2023/05/featured/ustfccca-ncaa-division-iii-track-field-athlete-hall-of-fame-class-of-2023-announced.

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This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Former UW-Oshkosh track-and-field star gets NCAA Hall of Fame honor