MIAC RELEASE: http://bit.ly/2mnRvR1 
 
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Nine Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) student-athletes are among a record 581 nominees for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Of those very deserving individuals, the MIAC has selected Bethel's Annika Halverson and St. Thomas' Whitney Lloyd to serve as the Conference's nominees.
 
This is the first time in the 28-year history of the Woman of the Year program that the MIAC has forwarded on a student from Bethel (and two nominees at the Conference level). The award was established in 1991 to honor graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
 
Halverson (Sr. | Wayzata, Minn.) ended her tenure as a Bethel student-athlete with a pair of All-America honors to go along with five combined trips to the NCAA Championships as a multi-sport athlete in cross country and track and field. The senior runner was also a nine-time All-Conference honoree and earned All-Region accolades four times in her career. Halverson got the job done in the classroom as well, punctuating her time at Bethel by receiving the 2017 MIAC Cross Country Elite 22 Award and garnering 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America honors after amassing a 3.95 grade-point average as a Sociocultural Studies and Reconciliation Studies double-major. She earned six Academic All-MIAC selections and was named All-Academic by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) five times.
 
In addition to her sport-related achievements, Halverson has also been recognized for excellence well beyond the typical scope of a student-athlete. A Dean's List honoree from 2014-18, Halverson was a recipient of Bethel's Servant Leadership Award as a senior, an honor bestowed annually to five undergraduate students who demonstrate exemplary servant leadership qualities. The Wayzata, Minn. native also received Bethel's Reconciliation Award this past year, which recognizes one undergraduate student who lives out the key principles of reconciliation in his or her daily life. In the community, Halverson has volunteered her time at Reading Partners, serving as a tutor for elementary-aged children in underfunded public schools to help develop their literacy skills, as well as at God's Closet, a free store for the homeless, recent immigrants and lower income families.
 
"Participating in collegiate athletics has empowered me to cultivate an unshakeable inner confidence," Halverson said. "I plan to go forth boldly into the world, bringing hope and compassion to all people I encounter."
  
Halverson and Lloyd were among nine extremely deserving student-athletes nominated by MIAC institutions this year. Other institutional nominees included Augsburg's Lauren Jennings (soccer), Gustavus' Sophie Leininger (soccer), Hamline's Kiana Verdugo (track and field), Saint Benedict's Sara Wennerstrand (softball), St. Catherine's Kylie Macziewski (softball), Saint Mary's Maria Missurelli (track and field), and St. Olaf's Jena Moody (cross country/track and field).
 
Following the announcements of Conference nominees, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will 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 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
 
The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 28 in Indianapolis.
 
| 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Nominees |