She was honored as the class medalist for having the highest grades in her year.

medalist 是由名词 medal（奖章、勋章）加上后缀 -ist（表示"从事某种活动的人"）构成的名词，指"获得奖章的人"或"奖牌获得者"。 class medalist 指"班级奖章获得者"，特指在班级或年级中因成绩优异而获得荣誉的学生。