Players Mentioned
Sunstrom selected as a nominee for 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year honors
6/27/2017 3:33:00 PM | Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
A record 543 female college athletes have been nominated by NCAA member schools for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Established in 1991 and now in its 27th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
The school nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, with 229 from Division I, 117 from Division II and 197 from Division III. The nominees competed in 21 different women's sports, and 122 were multisport athletes during their time 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 will select up to two conference nominees each from the pool of school 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 the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.
A resident of Sauk Rapids, Minn. and graduate of nearby Sauk Rapids-Rice High School, Sunstrom was an All-American in both cross country and track and field (10,000 Meters) for the Huskies in 2016-17.  During the cross country season, Sunstrom placed in the top 10 in six of the seven races she competed in with the lone race outside the top 10 being at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.  At the NCAA Division II cross country finals, Sunstrom earned All-America notice by placing 34th out of 240 runners. Â
She was named to the NSIC All-Academic Team in all three seasons (cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field) and set the school records in the outdoor 5,000m and 10,000m and the indoor 5,000m during the 2017 season.  Sunstrom was named to the USTFCCCA All-Region team in Cross Country and Outdoor Track & Field and earned four NSIC All-Conference honors during the season (cross country, indoor 5000m, outdoor 5,000m & 10,000m).
A two-time Division II All-American in the outdoors 10,000 meters, Sunstrom capped her collegiate career this spring with a seventh place finish in the 10,000 meters at the 2017 NCAA Division II championships.  Sunstrom recently was named the St. Cloud State University Female Senior Athlete of the Year for 2016-17.
Located in Central Minnesota along the oak-crowned west bank of the Mississippi River in the city of St. Cloud, Minn., St. Cloud State University sponsors 19 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. Â The Huskies compete at the NCAA Division I level in men's hockey (National Collegiate Hockey Conference) and women's hockey (Western Collegiate Hockey Association), while its NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the University's nordic ski team competes in the Central Collegiate Ski Association. Â
To learn more about the academic opportunities available at St. Cloud State University, please visit stcloudstate.edu
NCAA Story on 2017 Woman of the Year Nominees
