CONWAY, Ark.—Senior Lauren Merritt has been named Female Athlete of the Year at the University of Central Arkansas.

The Texarkana, Texas, native, and Redwater High School graduate, earned All-Conference honors last October at the Southland Conference Cross Country Championships at West Guth Park in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Merritt placed third at the meet, breaking her own school record for a 6k race with a time of 21:27.5. She broke her own two-year-old record a week earlier with a time at 22:03.3 in the Arkansas Chili Pepper Festival at Fayetteville, Ark.

Sh...