All-Americans Loncki and Abraham NCAA Woman of the Year Award Nominees
Two-sport star Margaret Loncki (CMC '18) and sprinter Tyra Abraham (SC '18) from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps have been nominated for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. 581 student-athletes were nominated by member institutions across all three NCAA divisions in 2018, 199 of which represent NCAA Division III. Women's basketball standout Kris Brackmann (CMC '17) represented CMS last season.
As a way to celebrate the accomplishments of female student-athletes, the NCAA Woman of the Year award was established in 1991 and honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
Nominees from Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) programs were voted on by SCIAC athletic administrators, and Abraham is now one of two women from the SCIAC left in the national voting pool. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
A two-time National Champion in the 100 meter dash, Abraham helped CMS to a fourth-place finish at the 2018 NCAA DIII Track and Field National Championships. The fastest woman in CMS history, Abraham won the 100 meter dash National Title this year with a time of 11.87. She holds the record for the fastest 100 meter dash in program history (11.65) as well as the 200 meter dash record (24.36). In the classroom, Abraham completed her four years at Scripps College this spring, where she majored in Anthropology/Media Studies.
Loncki, the 2018 Division III Women's Golfer of the Year, helped lead the Athenas to their first NCAA Division III National Championship in program history. She also won the Individual National Championship. In the fall, Loncki starred on the Athenas women's soccer team. Loncki graduated from Claremont McKenna College in May where she was an Organismal Biology & Economics major.
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.