The Woman of the Year Selection Committee has announced the national Top 30 honorees for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Established in 1991, the award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes female student-athletes who have completed their undergraduate studies and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.
Selected from a record-breaking 619 nominees submitted by member schools — a group that was then narrowed to 164 nominees at the conference level — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees represent 15 sports, including two student-athletes representing NCAA Emerging Sports for Women. They have a variety of majors, including national security and intelligence, neuroscience, economics, civil engineering, education, nursing, computer science and business management.
"We are thrilled to celebrate 30 incredible student-athletes who surpassed the standard of excellence on their campus, in their community and on their teams," said Renie Shields, chair of the Woman of the Year Selection Committee and senior associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Saint Joseph's. "This decorated and diverse group represent the thousands of women competing in college sports each year and are contributing to the ongoing growth of women's sports."
The selection committee will determine three honorees from each NCAA division, for a total of nine finalists. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year.
The NCAA Woman of the Year will be named, and the Top 30 will be celebrated, at the NCAA Convention in January. Below is a summary of their accomplishments.
Vanessa Aniteye
School: Seattle Pacific University
Division II
Conference: Great Northwest Atlantic Conference
Sports: Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Exercise science
Vanessa Aniteye was the 800-meter champion at the 2023 Division II NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. A nine-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American, she earned five first-team honors across her career, two following her return to competition after becoming a mother. The 11-time USTFCCCA All-West Region first-team honoree and 2023 West Region Indoor Female Track Athlete of the Year was named the 2023 Great Northwest Indoor Female Athlete of the Year. Aniteye won All-Great Northwest honors 14 times, including individual titles in the indoor 800 meters and indoor and outdoor 400 meters. The 2023 Seattle Pacific Athlete of the Year, she holds school records in the outdoor 400 meters and the indoor 800 meters, and she contributed to a school and Great Northwest record in the 4x100 relay. Aniteye helped earn silver for Germany at the 2017 U20 European Championships in the 4x400. The 2023 first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree was also a five-time Great Northwest All-Academic honoree and conducted research on pre-competition anxiety in female student-athletes. In 2023, Aniteye received the Falcon Award for Excellence, recognizing athletics, academics, leadership and impact on others. She was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and volunteered at the Bayview Retirement Community.
Peyton Barnes
School: Fairmont State University
Division II
Conference: Mountain East Conference
Sport: Acrobatics and tumbling
Majors: National security intelligence, political science and criminal justice, with concentrations in homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting and related protective services
Peyton Barnes was a three-time 450 salto toss, three-time synchronized pyramid and two-time 6 element acro Mountain East champion with the Fairmont State acrobatics and tumbling team. She was also a member of Mountain East regular-season and tournament championship teams in 2021 and 2022. She earned the 2023 Mountain East Specialist of the Year Award and was a two-time All-Mountain East second-team honoree. Graduating summa cum laude in three majors, Barnes was a three-time National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association All-Academic Selection Team honoree and spent four straight years on the NCATA and Mountain East Academic Honor Roll. She earned the 2023 NCATA Colleen Kausrud Leadership Award, which recognizes a senior student-athlete who exemplified servant leadership throughout her career. Barnes also received the 2023 Fairmont State Jasper H. Colebank Award, given to the top senior student-athlete. The eight-time Fairmont State President's List honoree was named a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success in 2022. A four-year member of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Barnes served as president from 2020-22 and was the representative to the Mountain East SAAC. She also served as president of the Black Student Union for three years and was vice president of the Iota Phi chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority for 2022-23.
Hannah Beatus
School: Grand Valley State University
Division II
Conference: Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Sport: Softball
Major: Marketing
Hannah Beatus led her team to a runner-up finish in the 2023 NCAA Division II Softball Championship. A three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American and two-time Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association All-American, she earned first-team NFCA and D2CCA honors in 2023. The 2023 D2CCA Midwest Pitcher of the Year helped her team to five straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate titles, and she received all-conference first team and conference Pitcher of the Year honors in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Beatus holds the Grand Valley State record for career no-hitters (8), and she's second in career wins (97) and third in all-time career strikeouts (766) and career batting average against (.185). A 2022 College Sports Communicators third-team Academic All-American, Beatus was named the 2023 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earned the spring 2023 Commissioner's Award for her academic and athletic performances. A three-year member of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, she served as president for 2020-21 and event coordinator from 2018-20. She was a four-year fellow at the Hauenstein Center Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy, serving as a lead fellow from 2021-23. In that role, she helped create leadership development curriculum, mentored small groups and led community engagement efforts.
Aliyah Boston
School: University of South Carolina, Columbia
Division I
Conference: Southeastern Conference
Sport: Basketball
Major: Mass communications
Aliyah Boston led top-ranked South Carolina to the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship title and was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. The most decorated player in South Carolina history, the three-year team captain was the unanimous 2022 National Player of the Year and 2020 National Freshman of the Year, finishing her career as a three-time first-team All-American, two-time Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year and the 2022 Division I Honda Collegiate Athlete of the Year. Boston was a three-time SEC Player of the Year and the 2022 SEC Female Athlete of the Year. She holds two SEC records, 14 program career records, 14 program season records and five program single-game records. She has represented the U.S. in international competition, winning gold in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and 2021 FIBA AmeriCup. A magna cum laude graduate, Boston was a three-time first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and was overall Team Member of the Year in 2022. On campus, she volunteered at local middle schools and youth camps. Boston hosted a girls basketball camp in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and she provided apparel and shoes to every varsity girls basketball player in the public schools on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Boston was the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2023 WNBA draft.
Kendis Butler
School: Penn State Harrisburg
Division III
Conference: United East Conference
Sport: Basketball
Major: Communications
Kendis Butler led her team to a runner-up finish in the 2023 United East Women's Basketball Championship. Named the 2023 United East Female Senior Athlete of the Year, Butler was a three-time All-United East selection, earning first-team recognition in 2020 and 2022, and she holds the conference record for career 3-point field goals. Ending her collegiate career as the active leader in NCAA Division III 3-point field goals, with 295, her 3-point total is 26th in Division III history, and she ranks 19th across all three NCAA divisions. The three-year team captain holds seven program records, including all-time leading scorer and the fastest player in program history to score 1,000 points. Butler graduated magna cum laude and received College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors in 2023. She was a three-time United East Scholar-Athlete and the inaugural Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2023. Butler was a 2023 finalist for the Jostens Trophy, which recognizes Division III basketball players who excel in athletics, academics and community service. A three-year campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member, she served as vice president in 2021-22 and as president and the representative to the United East SAAC in 2022-23. Butler also served as a student representative on the Faculty Athletics Senate Committee. In 2023, she spearheaded a canned food drive for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and Penn State Harrisburg's Food Pantry, and she helped clean, paint and prepare furniture for a home for a Ukrainian refugee family in 2022.
Ann Carozza
School: West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Division II
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
Sport: Swimming and diving
Major: Special education
Ann Carozza is a two-time national champion, earning victories in the 200-yard butterfly in 2022 and 2023. She holds the NCAA Division II record in the 100-yard butterfly (52.06 seconds) and the 200 butterfly (1:55.98) and led her team to a fifth-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships. Carozza was a 23-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-American, including nine individual first-team recognitions, and she was named the 2023 Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors Association All-Area Performer of the Year. She earned 22 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles and was named PSAC Swimmer of the Year in 2022 and 2023. The three-year team captain owns eight PSAC records and 10 West Chester records, holding the 200 freestyle and 100 and 200 butterfly individual records at both levels. A magna cum laude graduate, Carozza was a two-time second-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and five-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete. She represented the swim team on the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was a participant in the Michael Horrocks Leadership Institute. Carozza coached the Rammies Special Olympics swim team from 2018-23 and served as a peer mentor through the Real Achievement Matters initiative for students who have an intellectual disability.
Camryn DeBose
School: University of New Haven
Division II
Conference: Northeast-10 Conference
Sport: Basketball
Major: Psychology, with a concentration in forensics
Camryn DeBose earned first-team All-Northeast-10 and all-defensive team honors in 2023. The 2022-23 Northeast-10 Conference Woman of the Year received the 2022-23 NE10 women's basketball Sport Excellence Award for her academic and athletic performances. The two-year team captain was recognized as her program's Most Valuable Player in 2022, and DeBose remains second all-time in program history with 165 3-point field goals made and 15th in scoring with 1,308 points. DeBose graduated summa cum laude and was a three-time NE10 academic all-conference member. She served as secretary of her campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for three years. In 2022, she was chosen as a member of New Haven's President Advisory Board to advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion awareness. In 2021, DeBose organized the first Black Lives Matter game on her campus and directed the successful event again the next year. DeBose volunteered from 2018-23 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, including creating fundraising initiatives and social media campaigns. She also volunteered as a math tutor for local middle school students and mentored high school AAU girls basketball players to help prepare them for athletics and academics at the collegiate level. DeBose was a volunteer with the Alzheimer's Walk and is an advocate for mental health in the Black community.
Anjali Devireddy
School: Johns Hopkins University
Division III
Conference: Centennial Conference
Sport: Tennis
Major: Neuroscience
Anjali Devireddy led her team to a quarterfinal finish in the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships, the Blue Jays' sixteenth straight appearance in the championships, and she earned a place in the 2022 NCAA Division III singles championship tournament. The two-time Centennial Conference Player of the Year earned first-team All-Centennial honors in singles and doubles in 2021 and 2022 and contributed to team conference championship titles in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Devireddy was a 2023 College Sports Communicators second-team Academic All-American and four-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete. She was a finalist for the 2023 ITA Sally Ride STEM Award, created to recognize a female student-athlete who demonstrates dedication and perseverance to tennis, STEM studies and long-term goals. The 2022 Centennial Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year was a medical research assistant studying neonatal epileptogenesis in the Kadam Lab for neonatal seizures and in 2021 co-authored an abstract on the impact of sleep deprivation that was accepted by the American Epilepsy Society. A 2023 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, Devireddy also was a research assistant in the Visual Thinking Lab, where she contributed to computer coding of visual stimuli for human subject experiments and ran experimental protocol for a visual asymmetry project. The 2022 ITA Division III Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award recipient was a four-year campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative, serving on the community service committee. Devireddy volunteered at the Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital for three years and spent five years with ACEing Autism as a volunteer youth tennis instructor.
Callie Dickinson
School: University of Georgia
Division I
Conference: Southeastern Conference
Sport: Swimming and diving
Major: Exercise and sports science
Callie Dickinson is a six-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-American, earning first-team honors for her fifth-place finish in the 4x200-yard freestyle relay at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. The three-time second-team All-SEC honoree earned silver in the 200-yard butterfly at the 2023 SEC championships, following bronze finishes in the 200 butterfly and 4x200 freestyle relay in 2022 and the 4x200 freestyle relay in 2021. Dickinson holds four top 10 times in program history in four events. She has represented the U.S. in international competition since 2017, including the 2023 World University Games. The five-time first-team CSCAA Scholar All-American earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District recognition in 2023 and 2022. Dickinson was the 2023 SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earned a 2023 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. The summa cum laude graduate was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, and she served as president for Georgia's Blue Key Honor Society chapter. She was one of eight student finalists at the 2023 annual meeting of the Southeast Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine for her abstract on the effects of strenuous exercise on muscle mitochondrial capacity. A member of her campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee from 2019 to 2023, she was also selected for Georgia's Student-Athlete Leadership Academy. Dickinson also mentored local youth and volunteered as a national Crisis Text Line counselor.
Audrey Ernst
School: Arizona State University
Division I
Conference: Pac-12 Conference
Sport: Triathlon
Majors: Nursing; health care compliance and regulations
Audrey Ernst led her team to four titles at the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships. The 2019 individual runner-up earned USAT All-America honors, followed by honorable mention recognition in 2021. Ernst was a two-time USAT all-region honoree and was her team's Most Valuable Player in 2019. The team captain has represented the U.S. in international competition, highlighted by a 2019 USA Triathlon U-23 national championship title at the World Triathlon Continental Cup in Richmond, Virginia. Ernst graduated summa cum laude and earned three College Triathlon Coaches Association Scholar All-America recognitions. In 2023, she was an NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship finalist, and she received the Pac-12 Tom Hansen Medal of Honor and Arizona State's Bill Kajikawa Award for her excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service. She studied heart rate variability as a research volunteer assistant for Arizona State's Mind and Body Lab and presented survey findings on student athletic impacts of substance misuse prevention at a 2023 NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, conference. Ernst was a campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative, serving for two years as chair of the mental health board and one year as president. The Pac-12 Student Athlete Leadership Team representative spent three years in the Tip of the Fork leadership program and two years in the EmpowHER women's leadership initiative. Ernst also was a member of the Student Nurses' Association and volunteered at the local children's hospital.
Logan Eggleston
School: University of Texas at Austin
Division I
Conference: Big 12 Conference
Sport: Volleyball
Major: Business management
Logan Eggleston led Texas to the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship title and was named Most Outstanding Player. The 2023 Honda Sport Award winner for volleyball was the first in Texas history to become American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year, earning the honor in 2022. The five-time AVCA All-American and three-time Southwest Region Player of the Year won three Big 12 Conference Player of the Year Awards and earned five All-Big 12 first-team honors. The three-year team captain led Texas to five straight conference championships and holds the conference record for career service aces, along with placing top 10 in seven program record categories. She has represented the U.S. internationally since 2016 and was named team captain, most valuable player and best server of the women's junior national team in 2018. Eggleston is a three-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, a two-time Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar and the 2020 Big 12 Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year. In 2023, she was awarded the McLendon Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship and NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship. The three-year campus Student-Athlete Advisory Representative served a two-year presidency. As president, she created the Developing Neighborhood Athletes Fund, raising money and funding sports opportunities for underprivileged youth in Austin. Eggleston also was a founding member and president of the Longhorns for Equity, Access and Diversity initiative, providing financial support to organizations supporting underprivileged and diverse communities.
Grace Forbes
School: Rice University
Division I
Conference: Conference USA
Sports: Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Majors: Exercise physiology; sports medicine
Grace Forbes placed second in the 10,000 meters at the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The five-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American won the 10,000 meters event at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Round in 2021 and 2022. She was named 2020 and 2021 USTFCCCA Cross Country South Central Athlete of the Year and won the 6,000-meter event at the 2021 NCAA Division I South Central Region Cross Country Championships. Forbes is a 12-time Conference USA champion and was named the 2022 Michael L. Slive Conference USA Female Athlete of the Year, following recognitions as Female Track Athlete of the Year in 2021 and 2022 and Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2021. The team captain holds five school records and earned Rice's 2023 Joyce Pounds Hardy Award for most outstanding female student-athlete. She was a six-time USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree and three-time C-USA Scholar Athlete of the Year. Forbes served on the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. In addition to coaching and mentoring collegiate and youth cross country runners, she volunteered with Healing the Children in a surgical clinic in Ecuador in 2022 and with the Puentes de Salud organization, which provides free health care to the underserved Latinx community in Philadelphia. In May 2020, Forbes raised $2,400 for the Black Lives Matter Global Network through a personal daylong running campaign.
Divonne Franklin
School: Pennsylvania Western University, California
Division II
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
Sports: Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Biology, with a concentration in pre-medicine
Divonne Franklin was national champion in the 100 and 200 meters at the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She is an eight-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American, including five first-team honors. The 2022 and 2023 Indoor and Outdoor USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year is first in Division II history in the 100 meters regardless of conditions (11.09) and second in the 200 meters (22.65). She holds 15 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship titles and four PSAC records and is a four-time PSAC Track Athlete of the Year. Franklin holds seven school records and competed in the 2023 Indoor and Outdoor USA Track and Field Championships. Franklin earned first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors in 2023, following second-team recognition in 2022, and was a four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree. She was voted the 2022-23 PSAC Pete Nevins Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the 2023 USTFCCCA Outdoor National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year. She researched causes and solutions for vaccine hesitancy in the 2021 Science Communication and Outreach Fellowship and presented her findings on campus. She also researched the exposure of red dye 40 on yeast cells and Drosophila melanogaster models and presented the findings during the university's Fall Creative Works and Research Event in 2021. Franklin volunteered in her campus bone marrow drives, at local high school cross country meets and during annual community cleanups.
Kristen Hayden
School: Indiana University, Bloomington
Division I
Conference: Big Ten Conference
Sport: Swimming and diving
Major: Liberal studies, with a concentration in media
Kristen Hayden earned second place in the 3-meter springboard at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. In addition to one first-team College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-America award, she earned five second-team All-America honors, including three while competing for Michigan and Minnesota. She also was a 2022 All-Big Ten second-team selection. In 2022, Hayden broke Indiana's 3-meter dual meet record. She made history as the first African American female diver to win a U.S. senior championship after her mixed synchronized 3-meter dive title at the 2021 USA Diving Winter National Championships and was the first African American to qualify for the FINA World Championships. A summa cum laude graduate, Hayden was a three-time CSCAA Scholar All-American and earned the 2022 Big Ten Medal of Honor for academic and athletic excellence. The Academic All-Big 10 selection was recognized as a 2023 Indiana University Founders Scholar. A founding member and president of the USA Diving Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, she helps create initiatives to make diving more inclusive. During the pandemic, Hayden facilitated virtual diving and strength workouts for youth divers. She is a contributing author to the book "Dear Rebel," written to inspire young girls to pursue their dreams. She actively shares her story of overcoming obstacles related to her auditory processing disorder, including as a keynote speaker at the 2022 Disability:IN global conference.
Sophie Jaques
School: The Ohio State University
Division I
Conference: Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Sport: Ice hockey
Major: Civil engineering
Sophie Jaques led her team in claiming the 2022 National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship title and was selected to the NCAA Women's Frozen Four all-tournament team in 2022 and 2023. She was a two-time first team American Hockey Coaches Association All-American and the second defender ever to win the 2023 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Jaques was named the 2023 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year and the 2022 WCHA Final Faceoff Most Outstanding Player. The two-time WCHA Defender of the Year holds the conference record for career goals by a defender. A two-time Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year, Jaques holds three program records, including season points. The 2022 Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year and two-time AHCA All-American Scholar was a 2022 second-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and added third-team honors in 2023. She was the 2022 WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors four times. Jaques graduated magna cum laude and earned the 2023 Big Ten Medal of Honor for her academic and athletic excellence. Through the Ohio State campus transit lab, she conducted research on enhancing traffic flow. Jaques served as vice president of SHEROS, an organization dedicated to providing a safe space for women who are minority student-athletes and promoting diversity in sport, and she read to children as a volunteer with 2nd & 7. Jaques was selected 10th in the inaugural Professional Women's Hockey League draft in 2023.
Amanda Montplaisir
School: Minnesota State University, Mankato
Division II
Conference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
Sports: Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Family consumer science, with a concentration in dietetics
Amanda Montplaisir led her team to runner-up finishes at the 2023 NCAA Division II Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships and was a five-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American, including four first-team honors. She earned Northern Sun individual titles in the indoor 3,000 meters and outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase, and her contributions led her team to three indoor and two outdoor conference titles. The 2022 Northern Sun Women's Cross Country Outstanding Senior of the Year was two-year team captain for cross country and track. She holds school records in the outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase, indoor 3,000 meters and indoor distance medley relay. In 2022, Montplaisir earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors and was a Northern Sun Myles Brand All-Academic Award recipient. She earned the 2023 Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award, recognizing the top female student-athlete in each sport in the conference. Montplaisir was a three-year campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member and four-year Student Dietetic and Nutrition Organization member, through which she helped initiate a mentorship program for dietetics students. She volunteered for several organizations focused on reducing food insecurity on campus and in the local community, including Feed My Starving Children and Campus Cupboard.
Elise Morris
School: Middlebury College
Division III
Conference: New England Small College Athletic Conference
Sport: Soccer
Major: Neuroscience
Elise Morris was a 2022 United Soccer Coaches third-team All-American, and her team finished as runner-up in the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship. Morris received USC first-team All-Region honors in 2021 and 2022. Part of the 2018 and 2021 New England Small College Athletic Conference championship teams, Morris earned All-NESCAC first-team honors in 2021 and 2022. The team captain earned five program awards, highlighted by two Middlebury Defensive Player of the Year recognitions and their school's 2023 Deborah Parton '76 Memorial Award for team spirit and dedication. Morris earned College Sports Communicators first-team All-District honors in 2022 and four NESCAC All-Academic team honors. The 2023 NCAA Division III LGBTQ Student-Athlete of the Year spearheaded an anti-sexual violence campaign called It Happens Here, which was the most-attended Middlebury student event in 2023. Morris partnered with Middlebury's Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to develop anti-racism curriculum and worked with the campus Civil Rights and Title IX Office to develop consent education. A member of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Morris served on the Student Government Association Relationship and Sexual Respect Committee and founded the soccer team's diversity, equity and inclusion committee. Morris volunteered with the Seattle Children's Hospital Stanley Stamm Camp for children with neurological diversities, and in 2018, volunteered as a pediatric nutritional educator, medical scribe and translator with Guatemala Village Health.
Tess Muneses
School: Washington and Lee University
Division III
Conference: Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Sport: Field hockey
Majors: Economics; mathematics
Midfielder Tess Muneses led her team to second-round and third-round appearances in the 2022 and 2021 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championships and the two best seasons by win total in program history, with records of 17-3 in 2022 and 18-1 in 2021. She is a two-time first-team National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-American and a 2022 second-team Synapse Sports All-American. Muneses is a four-time All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference honoree, including three first-team honors and a selection as 2021 ODAC Offensive Player of the Year. She graduated with the program record in all-time assists with 27 and was named the 2022-23 Region VI Women's Athlete of the Year from the Division III Commissioners Association. The 2023 second-team At-Large College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honoree was a three-time NFHCA Scholar of Distinction. Honored twice as ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Muneses was a four-time Old Dominion All-Academic selection and earned Washington and Lee's William McHenry Women's Sport Scholar-Athlete Award in 2023. A member of Omicron Delta Epsilon International Economic Honor Society, Muneses also served as vice president for recruitment in Pi Beta Phi, as well as vice president of operations for Washington and Lee's Panhellenic Council. She also was a peer tutor for microeconomics, served as treasurer of the annual Fancy Dress event on campus and volunteered for the Campus Kitchen program for hunger relief.
Birgen Nelson
School: Gustavus Adolphus College
Division III
Conference: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Sports: Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Majors: Political science; classical languages
Birgen Nelson was a two-time NCAA Division III outdoor track and field national champion in the 100-meter hurdles and also won an indoor 60-meter hurdles national title. She owns NCAA Division III all-time records in the indoor 60-meter hurdles, outdoor 100-meter hurdles and outdoor sprint medley relay. The nine-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association first-team All-American earned USTFCCCA North Region Track Athlete of the Year recognition twice. She won 13 individual Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship titles, contributed to an outdoor team title in 2023 and was a two-time conference Track Athlete of the Year. The most decorated athlete in program history holds 14 school records, with nine set in 2023. Nelson placed sixth in the 60-meter hurdles at the 2023 USA Track and Field Indoor Championships. She earned first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors in 2023 and 2022, following a third-team selection in 2021, and four USTFCCCA All-Academic honors. During her three years in the Student Senate, she served as a hall representative, ombudsperson and co-president, and she implemented a Laptop Loanership Program, free menstrual products on campus, and ad-hoc committees for racial justice and indigenous relations. Nelson served on the Gustavus Adolphus Board of Conduct and was the legislative affairs co-chair for the Minnesota Association of Private College Students.
Kristen Palmer
School: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Division III
Conference: Northeast Fencing Conference
Sport: Fencing
Majors: Computer science; electrical engineering
Kristen Palmer is a two-time first-team U.S. Fencing Coaches Association Division III Sabre All-American after earning second-team USFCA National Collegiate Sabre All-America recognition. She appeared in two National Collegiate Men's and Women's Fencing Championships and finished 16th in 2023 as one of two Division III sabre qualifiers. The team captain was a two-time Northeast Fencing Conference Sabre All-Star first-team honoree, earning conference Fencer of the Year and Rookie of the Year in 2020 and was named her team's Most Valuable Player the same year. The two-time College Sports Communicators At-Large All-District team member was a three-time USFCA All-Academic team member and a two-time USFCA Scholar of Distinction. She taught high school students in South Africa and Botswana the basics of machine-learning robotics and artificial intelligence with MIT Global Teaching Labs. She also researched the use imaging methods to embed unobtrusive but machine-readable physical codes in objects in MIT's Human-Computer Interaction Engineering Lab. Palmer was a campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative and was co-president of Juniper House, a living group centered on celebrating achievements of Black women. She was a member of the Black Students' Union, Black Women's Alliance, National Society of Black Engineers and Society of Women Engineers. Palmer volunteered as a college access and career advisor tutor, working with members of her local community and through alumni groups to review college essays and applications, offer computer science tutoring and support students in finding scholarships.
Charlotte Richards
School: University of Missouri-St. Louis
Division II
Conference: Great Lakes Valley Conference
Sport: Volleyball
Major: Supply chain management
Outside hitter Charlotte Richards is a three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American and a two-time Division II Collegiate Coaches Association All-American, earning three first-team recognitions collectively. She finished the 2022 season in the top 15 in the NCAA Division II volleyball record books in total kills (eighth), total attacks (eighth), points per set (11th) and kills per set (13th). Richards helped lead the Tritons to the semifinals of the 2022 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship. The 2022 AVCA Midwest Region Player of the Year was named Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year three times and earned first-team All-Great Lakes Valley recognition four times. The three-year team captain holds five program records, including career points scored (2,155). Richards earned first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-America recognition in 2022, following second-team honors in 2021. She earned Academic All-Great Lakes Valley honors four times and was the Great Lakes Valley Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2021 and 2022. She received the 2023 Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award, given to the conference's female student-athlete of the year, and twice received a Great Lakes Valley Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award for maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout the academic year. Richards was a four-year member of her campus Supply Chain and Transportation Club, where she received the Supply Chain and Analytics Outstanding Student Award. She also volunteered with the Special Olympics, Ronald McDonald House and Food Lifeline.
Karson MacKenzie Saunders
School: Union College (New York)
Division III
Conference: Liberty League
Sport: Softball
Majors: English; sociology
Karson MacKenzie Saunders is a 2023 National Fastpitch Coaches Association first-team All-American and earned NFCA first-team All-Region honors twice. In 2023, the outfielder was named the Division III Commissioners Association Region III Women's Student-Athlete of the Year and Liberty League Player of the Year. She finished the season ranked in the top five in Division III in batting average (.528) and on-base percentage (.600), with the highest single-season batting average in Liberty League history. Saunders holds three program records, including batting average, on-base percentage and stolen bases in a single season, and is in the top 10 in an additional four categories. She was the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Division III Softball Team Member of the Year following third-team recognition in 2022. In 2023, Saunders was named the Liberty League Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Union Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She was a 2023 inductee into Phi Beta Kappa and was named a co-valedictorian of her senior class. Saunderswas a 2023 inductee into Phi Beta Kappa and five other academic honor societies. Saunders was a two-year member of her campus Honor Council, serving as vice chair, and she also served as director of finance for her sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon. She was a contributing writer to the sociology department newsletter and tutored students through the campus writing center.
Jill Schmitmeyer
School: University of Findlay
Division II
Conference: Great Midwest Athletic Conference
Sport: Golf
Major: Accounting, with a concentration in managerial accounting
Jill Schmitmeyer helped lead her team to the 2022 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships title. She is a three-time Women's Golf Coaches Association second-team All-American. A four-time WGCA All-East Region honoree, Schmitmeyer contributed to three NCAA Division II East Region Golf Championships titles for Findlay. The 2021 Great Midwest Player of the Year and five-time All-Great Midwest performer has been part of five consecutive team conference championship titles. She is tied for the Great Midwest and Findlay low 54-hole record, and she is in the top 10 in the Great Midwest for season and career individual scoring average. She is second in program history for lowest career scoring average and in the top 10 for low 36-hole score and lowest season average. Schmitmeyer earned WGCA All-American Scholar honors five times, along with being a five-time Academic All-Great Midwest selection. The summa cum laude graduate earned the 2022-23 Great Midwest Collegiate Achievement Award and the 2023 Mancuso Award for her leadership in her sport, on the Findlay campus and in her community. She spent four years in the band for Revive, Findlay's campus worship service. Schmitmeyer was a representative of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Future Leaders initiative. She volunteered teaching golf fundamentals to middle school students and during Findlay's All Sports Day and served food at City Mission, a homeless shelter.
Delaney Schnell
School: University of Arizona
Division I
Conference: Pac-12 Conference
Sport: Swimming and diving
Major: Psychological sciences
Delaney Schnell is the 2023 NCAA Division I national champion in women's platform diving. The 12-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America first-team All-American has won six Pac-12 Conference championships across three events. She is a three-time Pac-12 Diver of the Year and holds the conference record in women's platform diving. The two-year team captain captured five school records during her career. Schnell earned a silver medal in 10-meter synchronized platform diving at the Tokyo Olympics, the first time the United States earned a medal in the event. She earned four additional medals in international competition and is a six-time USA Diving national champion. The two-time first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American earned three CSCAA Scholar All-America selections and was named the 2023 Pac-12 Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar Athlete of the Year. She earned a 2023 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and the 2022-23 Tom Hansen Conference Medal, awarded to Pac-12 student-athletes exemplifying leadership and excellence in academics and athletics. Schnell collaborated in research on predictors and consequences of parent-offspring relationship quality following a late-life divorce, presented in 2020 during the Arizona Psychological Association convention. She volunteered with children with chronic illnesses through Arizona's Team IMPACT and delivered a keynote speech on having a positive mindset, overcoming obstacles and achieving goals at the Girl Scouts of Arizona's annual meeting in 2023.
Myah Selland
School: South Dakota State University
Division I
Conference: The Summit League
Sport: Basketball
Majors: Exercise science; community and public health
Myah Selland helped lead her team to the 2022 Women's National Invitation Tournament championship title, earning all-tournament Most Valuable Player honors. She received Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America honorable mention honors in 2021. She was a two-time Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award finalist and on the 2023 Cheryl Miller Award Top 10 watch list. The 2021 and 2023 Summit League Player of the Year contributed to three Summit League Championship titles and four regular-season titles. She was a three-time All-Summit League first-team honoree and is third in conference history in career points (2,167). The four-year team captain is the only player in program history to rank in the top five in career points (second), rebounds (fourth) and assists (fifth). A three-time second team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, Selland won the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup in 2023 for her character, teamwork and citizenship, and she was named the 2023 Summit League Daktronics Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She was a four-year member of her campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. In 2022, Selland co-founded the nonprofit Her Turn, which provides scholarships for girls and young women in the Brookings community to attend the South Dakota State athletic camp of their choice. She was a volunteer for the annual State-a-Thon fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network, and she volunteered with the Brookings County Youth Mentoring Program.
Ellie Shahbo
School: Harvard University
Division I
Conference: The Ivy League
Sport: Field hockey
Major: Neuroscience
Goalkeeper Ellie Shahbo was a 2021 second-team National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-American and helped her team to the semifinal round of the 2021 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. The four-time NFHCA All-Northeast Region selection's career goals-against average (0.76) ranks in the top 10 in NCAA Division I, and she was a four-time All-Ivy League selection. The team captain and 2021 Harvard Crimson Female Athlete of the Year is the only goalkeeper in program history to reach 50 wins, finishing with 52, and holds the single-season shutout record (10). She competed internationally for England for four years and was selected as the captain of the national team's U18 squad. Shahbo earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-America at-large third-team honors in 2022 and CSC All-District at-large honors in 2023. She was a four-time NFHCA Scholar of Distinction and earned 2022 Academic All-Ivy League honors. She received Harvard's 2023 Francis Hardon Burr Scholarship, recognizing character, leadership, scholarship and athletic ability. As a research assistant in the Balu Laboratory at Harvard, she analyzed molecular pathways driving autism and schizophrenia. She served as the executive head of outreach for Women of Harvard Athletics, helping to create a more inclusive space and spearheading its Black Lives Matter movement. Shahbo served as president and vice president of the Athlete Medical Mentorship Program, providing mentorship and shadowing opportunities to student-athletes, and was president of Harvard's IC final club, promoting equity and diversity efforts. She also volunteered weekly with the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.
Sophia Glory Slovenski
School: University of Southern Maine
Division III
Conference: Little East Conference
Sports: Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Health science
Sophia Glory Slovenski is the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field champion in the javelin. She is a three-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American, earning first-team recognitions for javelin in 2019 and 2021. The six-time Little East individual champion also contributed to six team championship titles. The two-year team captain holds the indoor school record in the pole vault (3.82 meters) and the outdoor school record in the javelin (48.21 meters). Slovenski was named the 2023 Division III Commissioners Association Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year. She earned College Sports Communicators first-team Academic All-America honors in 2021 and 2023. The three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic team member and five-time All-Little East Academic team member was recognized by Southern Maine as a two-time William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete. Slovenski was Southern Maine's Most Outstanding Student Leader of the Year for 2021-22 and the 2022 and 2023 recipient of the school's Paula D. Hodgdon Leadership Award for female student-athletes. Slovenski served on her campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for four years and created mental health initiatives as president in 2022-23. She was a member of the Student-Athlete Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Committee and was a founding member of her university's Strong Girls United chapter, mentoring young girls and raising $2,000 for a multisport event focused on increasing sport opportunities for girls.
Annika Urban
School: Emory University
Division III
Conference: University Athletic Association
Sports: Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Majors: Human health; political science
Two-time NCAA Division III Women's Track and Field individual national champion Annika Urban won the indoor mile and the outdoor 1,500 meters in 2023. She earned seven first-team U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America honors, and she holds the NCAA Division III indoor championship meet record in the 1,500 meters. Urban was the USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year for the 2023 indoor and outdoor seasons after earning the honor for cross country in 2021 and 2022. She was selected Most Outstanding Athlete at the University Athletic Association championship for cross country in 2022 and for indoor and outdoor track and field in 2023. She won four individual conference championships and holds seven school records. Urban was a 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America first-team selection and was a two-time Academic All-District honoree. She earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors three times and made nine conference all-academic teams. As a peer health partner, Urban developed evidence-based curriculum and facilitated weekly courses for first-year students. She was a member of the Dean's Student Advisory Board, and as co-president of Table Talk Emory, she coordinated events to connect students across campus. In 2020, Urban contributed to the revision of FeedPGH reports for the mayor as a food policy intern for the city of Pittsburgh. Urban also was an editorial intern for U.S. News & World Report and a contributor to Emory's Center for the Study of Human Health, writing health and wellness content.
Anika Washburn
School: Case Western Reserve University
Division III
Conference: University Athletic Association
Sport: Soccer
Major: Computer science, with a concentration in software engineering
Anika Washburn led her team to a second-place finish in the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship. She earned first-team United Soccer Coaches All-America honors in 2021 in addition to three first-team All-Region selections during her career. Washburn made the all-tournament team during the 2022 tournament run, where the Spartans set a Division III record for goals scored in an NCAA championship tournament. She is a three-time All-University Athletic Association first-team honoree and was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year twice. The team co-captain and Case Western Reserve's 2020 Glenn and Peggy Nicholls Female Athlete of the Year set multiple program records, including both career and single-season records in goals, assists, points, game-winning goals and penalty kicks made. Washburn is a four-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, earning first-team honors in 2020 and 2021. Case Western Reserve awarded her the 2022 Bill Sudeck Outstanding Student-Athlete Award, recognizing athletics, academics and campus engagement, and Washburn placed second in both the Entrepreneurship Education Consortium ideaLabs and the Case Western Reserve business pitch competitions. Washburn was a five-year member of her campus Girls Who Code group and helped create curriculum and sessions in her three years as co-president. She also served as developer team lead and vice president of her campus Google Developer Student Club, leading development of an application to connect local food suppliers and nonprofit organizations. She is the founder of Signature Signs Co., constructing and selling custom neon signs across campus.
Madi Wulfekotter
School: University of Central Missouri
Division II
Conference: Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Sports: Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Major: Elementary education
Pole vaulter Madi Wulfekotter is a four-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association first-team All-American, with four top four individual finishes at the NCAA Division II Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She holds the sixth best indoor pole vault in NCAA Division II track and field history and the seventh best outdoor pole vault. Wulfekotter is a five-time All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association team member and was a finalist for the Mid-America Intercol. 2022-23 Ken B. Jones Award, recognizing top student-athletes. She had five second-place conference championship finishes and was a contributor to her team's 2021 indoor conference title. The Central Missouri 2023 Dr. Peggy Martin Outstanding Senior Female Athlete Award winner holds program records in the indoor (4.26 meters) and outdoor pole vault (4.31 meters). Wulfekotter earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors five times in her career. The 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America second-team selection was also a five-time Mid-America Intercol. Scholar Athlete. Wulfekotter was on the Central Missouri Literacy Team, reading to local elementary school students, in addition to volunteering in local elementary school classrooms. She supported incoming freshmen as a mentor at Central Missouri, as well as tutoring underclass students. She also volunteered as a youth pole vault coach, as an official at track meets and at Central Missouri's Campus Cupboard.
