Middle distance runner Lindsey Butterworth of Simon Fraser University and basketball star Suzanna Ohlsen of Seattle Pacific were among the 480 female student athletes nominated for this year’s NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Now in its 25th year, the Woman of the Year award honours graduating NCAA female college athletes who have completed their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
Butterworth, who captured 10 Great Northwest conference titles and seven All-America awards during her collegiate career, was honoured as the conference’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2014/15.
This past season, the health sciences major won NCAA Division II crowns in the 800 metres at both indoor and outdoor national championships in addition to capturing five conference titles.
At the NCAA outdoor championships last month, Butterworth clocked a winning time in the 800m of 2:02.88, just four-tenths of a second off the championship meet record.
Ohlsen, a biochemistry major who had perfect 4.00 grade point average in the classroom during her four-year academic career, was selected the women’s basketball NCAA Div. II Academic All-American of the Year and the Great Northwest Scholar Athlete of the Year. She was also an honourable mention All-American for her performance on the hardwood.
This past season Ohlsen finished third in the Great Northwest in scoring, with 17.7 points per game, fifth in steals, with 2.3, sixth in assists, with 3.9 and ninth, with a .832 free-throw percentage to earn first team all-conference honours.
Of the nearly 500 nominees, 93 competed in Division II.
All conference nominees are forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which chooses the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division.
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three nominees from each division and announces the top nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year.
The NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced, along with a celebration for the Top-30 honourees, at the annual award ceremony in Indianapolis on Oct. 18.
