BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Junior Vera Sjöberg of the Boston University women's track & field and cross country teams was named the Patriot League Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the league announced Wednesday.
 
The Stockholm, Sweden native won three individual Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors during the season, earning one in each of the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons. She was also named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team in each season and won a major award from the league for her athletic accomplishments.
 
"I am so proud of Vera for earning Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year," said Grant Cartwright, Boston University's Director of Track and Field and Cross Country. "Her resume of work in the Patriot League is historic on both the conference and national levels. She has accomplished all this while being an excellent scholar. She is a true role model and a shining example of the type of person we want representing Boston University."
 
Sjöberg earned her bachelor's degree in just three years on Comm. Ave, finishing with a 3.97 GPA as an English major with a minor in women, gender and sexuality. She was named to the Dean's List six times and has won five total Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, with two coming during the 2023-24 academic year.
 
During the cross country season, Sjöberg was the individual champion at the PL Cross Country Championships and earned Runner of the Meet honors. She went on to finish seventh at the NCAA Northeast Regional, earning All-Region status and advancing to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. She took 42^nd at that meet, just two spots shy of All-American status.
 
At the Patriot League Indoor Championships, Sjöberg dominated, winning the mile, 3000m and 5000m, leading for every single lap she raced. The Swede earned Patriot League Track Athlete of the Meet and Highest Point Scorer honors. Sjöberg also became the first BU woman to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2014, as she finished eighth in the mile and was named First Team All-American.
 
Once she shifted to the outdoor season, her reign over the League continued, as she won the 1500m and 5000m at the Patriot League Championships, with meet records in both, and contributed to BU's school record-breaking 4x800m gold medal win. Sjöberg once again snagged Track Athlete of the Meet honors and at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, she became the first woman in League and BU history to double, racing in both the 1500m and the 5000m.
 
Sjöberg finished as national runner-up in the 5000m with a time of 15:34.77 at the NCAA Championships, the best finish by a League or BU woman ever. That also earned her First Team All-America honors in the event. She also qualified for the 1500m final and finished 11^th, snagging a Second Team All-America nod.
 
Sjöberg is the third Terriers' women's student-athlete to receive the prestigious League award, joining Caitlin Coker (softball, 2023) and Allison Barwise (outdoor track and field, 2014).
 
The Patriot League Women's and Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year is presented annually. The candidates for these honors are comprised of student-athletes selected as the scholar-athlete of the year in their respective sports. For the 2024-25 academic year, there were 22 different candidates from 24 Patriot League sports.