VANCOUVER – Mikayla Tinkham has been recognized for her outstanding achievements in athletics and in the classroom. She has earned a place on the 2019-20 CoSIDA Academic All-America® NAIA Division Cross Country/Track & Field second team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

"I'm very honoured to be recognized by the CoSIDA Academic All-America Committee, alongside so many bright and talented women," said Tinkham, a fourth-year Nursing student. "UBC track has a long standing culture of excellence both on and off the field and I feel so lucky to be part of a program that emphasizes both academic and athletic success."
 

The NAIA Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NAIA national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2019-20 NAIA Academic All-America® teams program. Despite the cancellation of spring competition during COVID-19, CoSIDA continued its sponsorship of the Academic All-America awards program. Student-athletes were selected based on career statistics.

Tinkham is a five-time NAIA All-American in outdoor track and field. In 2019, she helped the Thunderbirds win the school's first NAIA national team championship, by winning gold in the 4x800-metre relay, bronze in the 800 metres, and fourth in the 1,500.

Tinkham is the third UBC women's track and field athlete to earn CoSIDA All-America distinction, joining Maria Bernard (2015) and Katherine Tourigny (2017).

"Maria Bernard and Katherine Tourigny have been extremely successful in their respective professional fields, so to follow in their footsteps is a huge honour," remarked Tinkham. They have been influential in shaping the culture of our program and I hope to do the same for our future incoming athletes."