The only four-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference Most Valuable Performer in women’s cross country, Elisa Pedersen graduated as one of the most decorated athletes in Grove City College history.
Pedersen earned NCAA Division III All-America honors in both 2004 and 2005 while also earning All-Mideast Region recognition in each of her four seasons.
A native of Santa Rosa, Calif., Pedersen immediately emerged as one of the region’s top runners as a freshman in 2002, when she won the conference’s individual title and earned 13th at the Mideast Championships.
As a sophomore, she repeated as conference champion and took 23rd at the regional championships.
In 2004, Pedersen qualified for the NCAA Championships after placing third at the Mideast Championships. She earned 16th place at the national meet, becoming the program’s first All-American.
Pedersen then repeated as an All-American in 2005 by finishing 27th at the NCAA Championships. She also earned fifth place at the Mideast Championships, becoming a four-time All-Region honoree.
Her efforts helped Grove City finish fourth at the 2005 Mideast Championships, which marked the program’s best-ever regional finish.
Grove City won the conference team title in each of her four seasons.
Upon graduation, Pedersen owned four of the five fastest times in program history.
She earned Grove City’s Sportswoman of the Year award for the 2005-06 academic year. She also became Grove City’s first CoSIDA Academic All-American in women’s cross country that year.
In 2015, the conference named her to its 60th Anniversary Team.
Pedersen graduated with bachelor’s degrees in both Spanish and accounting in 2006.
