Army Black Knights' Joanna Halfhill Shows Excellence In and Out of Class

Army Black Knights senior runner Joanna Halfhill shows the standard for success on and off the field for the athletics programs at West Point.

She competed for both the cross country and track and field teams. While her ability to compete for two teams was impressive, her academic accolades that really spoke for itself this athletic year. 

As a standout member for both teams she was credited with an astonishing number of prestigious awards which honored both her academic achievement and leadership. The United States Military Academy had an annual award presentation recently, where winning one of them is an incredible feat.

On Joanna Halfhill's Incredible Army Career

Halfhill won six. She displayed top-tier performances academically and athletically, with specifics to her background in science and engineering.

Halfhill was awarded one of the top honors at the Academy, the Brigadier General John R. Jannarone Memorial Award, which is presented to the cadet with the highest class standing academically. The award honors the memory of the fifth dean of the academic board, BG Jannarone. The silver tray is given by the Class of 1938 and was presented to Halfhill by LTC USAF Jack Jannarone.

Col. Peter H. Chapman presented her with two of her awards. The Sewell Tappan Tying Memorial Award has been awarded to the one with the highest rating in Nuclear Engineering since 1979. Halfhill also has the highest rating in physics which earned her the Brigadier General Gerald A. Counts Memorial Award. 

The Dean of the Academic Board, BG Shane R. Reeves, presented Halfhill with two more memorial awards that demonstrated Halfhill’s dedication and hard work in the classroom.

The Academy offers an award for the highest standing in Basic Sciences which is the Col. Herbert Bainbridge Hayden Memorial Award. The cadet with the third-highest overall class standing is honored with the Col. Theodore S. Westhusing Memorial Award. 

The cross country team also honors the cadet that is the most outstanding graduating teammate, the Kramer-Rumbaugh Award. Halfhill closes out her cross country career as a Black Knight taking home this award.

Throughout the weekend she was in Jacksonville, Fla., on a hunt for her first bid to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships that will take place in Oregon on June 11.