Edinboro Athletics Hall of Fame
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Gabriela Hnilkova (’00) was a standout runner on the cross country and track & field teams from 1998-2000. A native of the Czech Republic, she transferred to Edinboro in the fall of 1998 after competing for NAIA Oklahoma Baptist for two years. She would go on to earn All-American honors three times as a Fighting Scot, including twice in cross country. She also earned All-PSAC and All-East Region accolades both years in cross country. She earned All-American honors for the first time the fall of 1998, finishing 20th at the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships while helping Edinboro place fifth as a team. That came after she finished fourth at the PSAC Championships and also earned All-East Region honors. The following year, she led Edinboro to a third place finish at Nationals, the second-highest showing ever by the Fighting Scots. She was the first Boro harrier to cross the finish line, coming in eighth, the second-highest finish ever by an Edinboro runner. She was the individual champion at the East Regional along with placing fifth at the PSAC Championships. Hnilkova was named the 1999 NCAA Division II East Region Runner of the Year and PSAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year. In her one complete season of track & field in 1999, she earned All-American honors in the 10,000-meter run while placing fourth at the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships. She previously won the 3,000-meter run at the PSAC Outdoor Championships. She began the 2000 track season with a second place finish in the 10,000-meter run at the Duke Invitational, but then the NCAA ruled her track & field eligibility had expired. Hnilkova was also an outstanding student who was a USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete in both cross country and track & field. Following graduation in 2000 with her bachelor’s degree in Education, she moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and became a duathlete, where she won her age group at the World Long Course in Austria in 2000. In 2007, she finished ninth overall and was the second American runner to finish at the World Championships.
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