Elana Cope, of Cortez, is named to academic all-conference team

Elena Cope practices the freestyle event during a Montezuma-Cortez High School workout in 2011.

Elana Cope, of Cortez, has been named to the Midwest Conference’s Academic All-Conference list for the 2016-17 academic year and athletic season.

Cope, whose major at Knox College is undecided, was recognized for academic performance while a Prairie Fire athlete in women’s cross-country, swimming and diving.

The criteria to become an Academic All-Conference selection includes a minimum grade point average of 3.33, which is calculated only in the awarded academic year. First-year students, sophomores, juniors and seniors who letter in any of the Midwest Conference’s fall, winter or spring sports are eligible for the award.

Founded in 1837, Knox College is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois. Knox enrolls students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Knox’s “Old Main” is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.