Peoria, Ill. -- Mary Ellen Hill-Schupbach is considered the most decorated female student-athletes in Bradley Athletics history and the Missouri Valley Conference. In January's Forward Together feature, we look back at Hill's career and time on the Hilltop. 

From nearby Princeville, Illinois, Hill-Schupbach joined the Bradley Cross Country and Track team in the fall of 1996. In her time at Bradley, Hill-Schupbach won 10 Missouri Valley Conference Individual Titles between cross country and track & field (Indoor and Outdoor). She was a two-time All-American and a seven-time Academic All-America Honoree. 

Of the 10 Individual Conference Titles, Hill-Schupbach was the back-to-back MVC Cross Country Champion in 1998 and 1999. As a track & field team member, she was a three-time champion in the indoor 3,000-meter race (1998, 1999, 2000). Hill-Schupbach also won titles in the 1998 indoor mile, 1998 indoor 5,000-meter race, 1998 outdoor 3,000 meter, 1998 outdoor 5,000 meter and 2000 outdoor 10,000 meter. 

Hill-Schupbach was Bradley's first woman to earn MVC Hall of Fame Induction and she is one of only three cross country runners to be inducted into the MVC Hall of Fame. 

To go along with her 10 MVC Titles, Hill-Schupbach set four Valley records and was named the MVC Track Athlete of the Year three times. 

Her best finishes of ninth in the 5,000m at the Indoor NCAA Championships and fourth in the 5,000m at the Outdoor NCAA Championships earned her All-American Honors. Hill-Schupbach was also named the 2000 Illinois NCAA Woman of the Year and won the inaugural Dr. Charlotte West Scholar-Athlete Award, the most prestigious MVC Award, while also earning an NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship. 

Hill-Schupbach was also chosen as the Bradley Charles Osborn Award, formerly known as the Watonga Award, bestowed upon a graduating senior to recognize combined athletic and academic success with community service. 

Along with being inducted into the MVC Hall of Fame, Hill-Schupbach was inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2011 class. 

In recognition of the anniversary signing date of Title IX on June 23, 1972, women significant to the history of Bradley University Athletics representing each of our women's teams and department support areas will be spotlighted on the 23rd of each month. Check out our previous features below. 

Press Release: Celebrating Title IX 50 Years
Lydia Moss-Bradley: Paving the Way
Virnette House-Browning and Patty Viverito: Leaving an Impact
Title IX Conversations: Carol Price-Torok
Title IX Conversations: Andrea Gorski
Celebrating 50 Years of Title IX: Lindsay Stalzer
Celebrating 50 Years of Title IX: Caitlin and Kristen Busch
Celebrating 50 Years of Title IX: Nyagon Duany