We all know how tough it is to get a perfect 4.0 grade point average in college. It’s another thing to get it in the University of Utah’s biomedical engineering department, one of the most rigorous curricula on campus. Then imagine achieving that amazing grade point average while while also training as a student athlete. The U’s newest graduate, Cara Woolnough, is one such accomplished student. The Deseret News‘ sportswriter, Jay Drew, recently did a profile on this exceptional student. Read it below.


Numbers mean a lot to University of Utah distance runner Cara Woolnough, and not just on the track, where the recently graduated senior broke the school record in the 5,000 meters last month. Her time of 15 minutes, 40.52 seconds wrested the record from her former teammate, Ogden’s Sarah Feeny, whom Woolnough idolized when she came to the United States in 2017.

Math and science have always been among Woolnough’s favorite subjects, and she parlayed those loves into a biomedical engineering degree, all while shining on the track and cross-country trails for the U. 

Obviously, numbers are a huge deal in engineering.

But there’s one set of digits that Woolnough doesn’t like talking about as much. In fact, she’s a “bit embarrassed,” she said recently, when her grade point average was brought up in an interview with the Deseret News.

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