NCAA Release
List of Nominees
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – West Texas A&M's Bri Leeper continued to add to her already impressive resume on Tuesday afternoon as the former Lady Buff was named as a nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year honor. Leeper is one of 117 Division II athletes nominated for the award and one of 107 student-athletes who competed in track & field.
"This is a great honor for Bri and for the track & field program here at WT," women's track & field head coach Darren Flowers said. "She is the perfect example of a student-athlete who takes care of business on and off the track. She helped build our program to what it is today and we are grateful for all she did for WT."
Leeper finished her historic career with a third place finish in the 4x100-meter relay at last month's NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Bradenton, Fla. The quartet of Leeper, Jasmine Pitts, Libby Strickland and Shanice Cameron broke their own school record running 45.34 in the final.
The Amarillo, Texas native is a two-time recipient of the Elite 89 award and earned the President's Award at this past year's WT Athletics Awards Banquet. She is one of three Lady Buffs to have three or more All-American honors at the outdoor championships.
Leeper recently graduated with a degree in broadcasting and electronic media in May wtih a 4.0 GPA and was named the 2016 Lone Star Conference Outdoor Track & Field Academic Runner of the Year. During her time at WT, She was heavily involved in Buff Branding and raising money for Make-A-Wish foundation as a member of the Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT).
About the NCAA Woman of the Year Award
The NCAA Women 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.
The 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 II athletics.
Next, conferences will select up to two conference nominees while the Woman of the Year selection committee 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 divisison and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2016 Woman of the Year.
The top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year winner be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 16 in Indianapolis.
