Frances Schmiede, one of the most decorated middle distance runners in the history of Yale women’s track, and fencer Katherine Miller, an All-American who represented Brazil at the 2016 Olympics, received the 2017 Nellie Pratt Elliot Award, the most prestigious athletic award given to a senior female at Yale. Their awards were presented May 21 at Class Day exercises.

The Nellie Pratt Elliot Award goes to the senior woman whose excellence in the field of athletics and in her life at Yale best represents the ideals of sportsmanship and Yale tradition. It is awarded in memory of Nellie Pratt Elliot, who was an assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Yale for 46 years.

Frances Schmiede

Schmiede, a member of Pierson College and a Pymble, Australia native, was a two-time second team All-America selection in the indoor mile run. She is the Ivy League record holder in the 1,000 run and the Yale record holder in the mile, 1,500 and 1,000. Earlier this month, she won the Ivy League 1,500 outdoor championship to earn first team All-Ivy recognition. In February, she finished second in the 800 run at the Indoor Heptagonal Championship and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second straight year.

In the fall, Schmiede captained the cross-country team to a berth in the NCAA Championship for the first time in 15 years. She earned All-Ivy recognition for the second straight year by finishing seventh at the Heptagonal Championship. In addition, she is a two-time All-Northeast Region selection in cross country.

Schmiede, a political science major, has shined in the classroom as well. She earned Academic All-Ivy recognition in cross country this fall and in outdoor track last spring. She also is a three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic selection.

Katherine Miller

Miller, also a resident of Pierson College, earned second team All-America recognition this year after finishing eighth in the epee at the NCAA Championship. In her Yale career, she made three appearances at the NCAA Championship.

She took a leave of absence from Yale in 2015-2016 to train with the Brazil national fencing team. She represented Brazil at the Junior World Championships, Senior Pan American Championships and Senior World Championships. In all, she fenced on four continents. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio she competed in the epee.

Miller earned second team All-Ivy recognition at Yale in 2014 and 2015. She served as team captain this year, guiding the Bulldogs to a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championship.

Miller, a New York City native, is a global affairs major and a student fellow of the William F. Buckley Jr. Program. She earned Academic All-Ivy honors this winter.