Hinsdale's McColly Is A 2023-24 NAIA National Award Winner

Hinsdale’s Kaitlyn McColly is one of the 2023-24 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Award winners, which includes student-athletes, athletics personnel and sports teams from across the association. The honorees are celebrated for their hard work, exemplary character and significant accomplishments both on and off the field. National Awards Day recognizes the newest NAIA Hall of Fame inductees, 18 individual and team awards and the 2023-24 NAIA Scholar Team recipients.

McColly is one of two recipients of the A.O. Duer Scholarship Award, which is named in honor of the NAIA’s former executive secretary. The A.O. Duer Scholarship Award recognizes one male and one female junior student-athlete who has excelled in scholarship, character and citizenship. The male athlete recognized is Henri Stoeckermann, originally from Herrenberg, Germany, a leading track and field athlete at Midland University, in Nebraska.

McColly is a standout member of the Dickinson State University, North Dakota, track and field team. Specializing in the heptathlon and pentathlon, her tireless work ethic and dedication to excellence have made her a key contributor to the team’s success.

She captured two national championship titles in the outdoor heptathlon (2023) and indoor pentathlon (2024) while racking up an impressive array of accolades. Some of her achievements include being named a four-time NAIA All-American, earning the USTFCCA Regional Athlete of the Year honor for both indoor and outdoor track and field, and receiving the North Star Athletic Conference’s (NSAC) Most Valuable Athlete and Field Athlete of the Year titles. Additionally, she has been recognized as an NSAC All-Conference Performer in more than 10 events and was selected to represent Team USA in the heptathlon at the 2023 World University Games in Chengdu, China.

Beyond her athletic achievements, McColly excels academically as a nursing major, maintaining a 4.0 GPA and earning USTFCCA and Daktronics Scholar-Athlete awards. As an undergraduate, Kaitlyn is already utilizing her degree by working as a licensed practical nurse, where she is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of those in need.

“We are very proud of Kaitlyn for being selected for this very prestigious honor,” said athletic director Pete Stanton. “Kaitlyn exemplifies all we look for in a student athlete at Dickinson State. She achieves at all the highest levels athletically, academically and as a teammate and person. We are thriled for Kaitlyn.”

Her head coach Shayne Wittkopp added, “Kaitlyn is really the best of what it means to be Blue Hawk. She’s a unique student athlete that seems to excel at all her endeavors. Her efforts in and out of the classroom and on and off the track have made her a very deserving winning of this award. We are very proud of her.”

McColly will accept the award at the NAIA National Awards Banquet in April.