Bienenfeld Earns Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year

EUGENE, Ore. – Graduate transfer Aaron Bienenfeld has been named the 2022 Pac-12 Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The honor was announced Friday morning ahead of the Pac-12 Championships in Riverside, Calif.
 
Bienenfeld carries a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) in his graduate studies of non-profit management, and becomes the fourth UO man to win conference Scholar-Athlete accolades. He joins the short list already featuring Galen Rupp (2008), Sam Prakel (2017) and Matt Wisner (2021).
 
The 2022 Pac-12 Championships will air on the Pac-12 Network at 8:30 a.m. (PT). The women's 6K will go off at 8:40 a.m. followed by the men's 8,000-meter race at 9:40 a.m.
 
Preview: Ducks' Postseason Begins Friday in Riverside
 
At last year's conference meet, Bienenfeld secured a spot on the Pac-12 First Team with a fifth-place finish. He went on to earn USTFCCCA All-America honors, finishing 18th overall at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Fla.
 
The Frankfurt, Germany, native won in his season debut at the Bill Dellinger Invitational (Sept. 23) and was 24th at the Nuttycombe Invitational two weeks ago in Madison, Wis. Bienenfeld was a three-time NCAA qualifier on the track last season and ran to a bronze finish over 10,000 meters at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships at Hayward Field.
 
Emily Venters of Utah was the women's scholar-athlete recipient. Both will be recognized following the meet as part of the awards ceremony.
 
For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.