ROCK SPRINGS – Not only did she finish with a NCAA Division II National Championship in the heptathlon and earn All-American status, former Rock Springs Lady Tiger Shelby Bozner will join over 500 women athletes from around the nation who are up for the NCAA 2016 Woman of the Year award.
Bozner not only helped Chadron State Women’s Track squad capture its first conference championship, she also finished her year strong by winning a NCAA Division II Championship in the heptathlon. On June 21, she was among the those nominated for the Woman of the Year Award. NCAA member schools nominated 517 student-athletes for the award.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
This pool of school honorees marks the largest in the 26-year history of the award. Of the nominees for the national award, 231 competed in Division I, 117 competed in Division II and 169 competed in Division III athletics. The nominees also represent 21 different women’s sports, and 127 of the nominees competed in more than one sport in college.
The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.
Next, conferences assess their member school nominees and select up to two conference nominees. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division.
From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year.
The top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 16 in Indianapolis.
