Case Western Reserve University first-year sprinter Gianna Phipps was named the University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year for Women's Indoor Track and Field the organization announced on Thursday.

Phipps becomes the first-ever CWRU track and field student-athlete to be named Rookie of the Year following the indoor championship since the award was first introduced in 2001.

She accumulated three All-UAA honors, including a conference championship, at the event for 22 team points. Phipps became the first-ever member of the CWRU women's track and field team to win the UAA title or earn All-UAA honors in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.91 seconds in the final on Sunday after lowering her program record with a prelims time of 56.40 seconds on Saturday. She also placed third in the 200-meter dash, the first Spartan to earn All-UAA honors in the event in 23 years, with a finals time of 25.47 seconds, besting her own program record in the race by 0.01 seconds. Phipps ended the weekend as the anchor on the third-place 4x400-meter relay, helping the quartet set a program record with a time of 3:59.96 with CWRU finishing at least third in the event for the first time in 34 years.

This season, Phipps ranks ninth nationally and second regionally in the 400-meter dash, 48th nationally and eighth regionally in the 200-meter dash, and 70th nationally and fifth regionally in the 4x400-meter relay.

The Spartans will have one final opportunity to record qualifying marks for the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Track and Field Championships with the Polar Bear Last Chance Meet hosted by Ohio Northern University on Saturday, March 7. The 2026 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships will take place on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14 at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama.