2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Nominees
The Hillsdale College Athletic Department is pleased to announce that women's track and field athlete and recent Hillsdale graduate Alanna O'Leary is our nominee for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
NCAA member schools are encouraged to honor their top graduating female college athlete each year by submitting their name for consideration for the award. This year, 577 athletes from across all three NCAA Divisions were submitted, including 127 Division II athletes.
O'Leary was Hillsdale's choice as the nominee due to her consistent excellence in all facets of student life and her perseverance in the face of adversity both on and off the track.
A key competitor on back-to-back G-MAC Indoor Track and Field Championship-winning teams in 2020 and 2021 for Hillsdale, O'Leary was a critical part of Hillsdale's relay success at the conference and national levels.
As a junior, O'Leary ran on a Charger 4x400m relay team that set a school record (3:47.45) and took runner-up in the nation at the 2021 NCAA DII Indoor Championships, then came back in the outdoor season to earn All-American honors again in the 4x400m relay with an eighth-place finish (3:47.66) at the 2021 Outdoor Championships.
In her four years of collegiate track and field, O'Leary also helped Hillsdale's women win four 4x400m relay G-MAC titles – the 2019 outdoor title, the 2020 and 2021 indoor titles, and the 2021 outdoor title – and was a nine-time placer at G-MAC Championship meets as well. O'Leary earned four first-team All-G-MAC honors during her time competing in the conference, and also earned USTFCCCA All-Midwest Region honors in 2021.
Those accomplishments are even more impressive when you consider that O'Leary didn't get an outdoor season in 2020 – it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic – and that she battled injuries that kept her from competing at anything approaching full health throughout her senior season in 2022. Despite functionally missing a season and a half of her collegiate career, O'Leary still accomplished enough in the time she did have to leave a major mark.
More than just a talented athlete on the track, O'Leary also was a two-time team captain who helped guide her teammates to success throughout her career as well. In the classroom, O'Leary was excellent, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a 3.79 GPA and a degree in Exercise Science from Hillsdale College in the spring, while earning USTFCCCA All-Academic honors in 2021 and Academic All-G-MAC honors throughout her career.
O'Leary also has given back to the community in a variety of ways as an active volunteer, spending time throughout her career working at the Mary Randall preschool on the Hillsdale College campus, as well as with the Adopt-a-Grandparent charity visiting with elderly patients in local nursing homes.
The G-MAC office will next select up to two nominees each from the pool of eligible nominees from the G-MAC's 12 member institutions for the 2020-21 school year. All candidates selected by their conference will be considered by the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, who will choose the Top 30 honorees – 10 from each division.
From the Top 30, the Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.
For more information on the award and the nomination process, as well as past honorees, visit the NCAA Woman of the Year website here.
Photo Courtesy of Cedarville Athletics