Falcon Becky Ponick has won the WIAC outdoor track & field Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete award for the 2012 season. 

Ponick, a physical education and health education major, has had a great career at UWRF in both the classroom and on the track. She has earned a 3.571 cumulative grade point average. 

She is currently the chair of the UWRF recreation and sport facility committee and served as that group's secretary from 2009-11. In 2010 was the vice president of the health & human performance club and has been a member of that organization since 2008. She worked as a Week of Wheels volunteer at Burroughs Elementary school in Minneapolis, Minn., and helped with the SAAC Trick or Treat for Canned Goods event for three years. Ponick has also bee a volunteer for the Special Olympics bowling with kids with disabilities event and a Special Olympics district basketball tournament. She was a presenter for two sessions at the 2011 Wisconsin Health, Physical Education, Recreation convention. 

Ponick earned the UWRF Physical Education Major of the Year Award this year. She has been named to the UWRF Dean's List seven times and has earned six health and human performance scholarships during her career. She has earned WIAC Scholastic Honor roll recognition all three years she has participated in the sport at UWRF. In 2008 she was an outdoor track & field meet Academic All-American and she earned the same honor after the 2012 indoor season. 

She was a member of the 2008 Falcon team that won the NCAA Div. III National Championship. She placed 12th in the javelin competition at that meet. She won the 2008, 2011 and 2012 WIAC individual championship in the javelin event and placed second in 2010. Twice this year she was named the WIAC field Athlete of the Week. She set the school record in the javelin earlier this year with a throw of 141-1. She has been the team's captain the last two years and was named the team's Rookie of the Year in 2008. 

Ponick is the third Falcon to win this prestigious WIAC award. Previous winners include; Laura Gabriel (1988) and Colleen Kopel (2011). 

"Becky has been a great role model over the years," said Falcon Coach Aaron Decker. "Having been awarded the Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete award is a great honor and caps off her career as a Falcon with flying colors. She has been a great captain, a very important component in the UWRF community, and held several important leadership roles across campus. We as a staff are very proud of her accomplishments and are excited that she will be graduating and going into the world to lead young students forward in her career."

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Judy Kruckman who served as Assistant Commissioner for the WIAC from 1996-98. Prior to this appointment, she functioned as Commissioner of the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from October, 1984 - September, 1996.

In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, she must be in her last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.