UMAC Nominates Olivia Krejcarek from St. Scholastica for NCAA Woman of the Year Award
ST. PAUL – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) formally nominated Olivia Krejcarek from the College of St. Scholastica for the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Krejcarek, who was one of four finalists for the UMAC nomination, graduated from St. Scholastica this past May with degrees in Biology and Psychology (Pre-Med). Boasting an impressive 3.82 cumulative grade point average for her undergraduate work, Olivia was a four-year standout on the Saints’ volleyball team and also a four-year participant in both indoor and outdoor track and field. She was selected as the women’s honoree of the 2015 UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award, the most prestigious honor for student-athletes recognized by the UMAC.
NCAA Woman of the Year Award Website
The NCAA Woman of the Year award, now in its 25
th year, exists to celebrate the achievement of women in intercollegiate athletics. The award is unique as it recognizes not only the athletic accomplishments of outstanding young women, but also the academic performance, community service, and leadership of the same individuals. There were 147 conference nominees, the most ever in the history of the Woman of the Year program, since the NCAA moved from state to conference honorees in 2006. There were specifically 51 conference nominees in Division III. For all three divisions, the average GPA of all conference nominees was 3.72.
Krejcarek, a three-sport student-athlete at the College of St. Scholastica, was a captain for the Saints’ volleyball program in her junior and senior seasons, earning UMAC sportsmanship award accolades in both 2013 and 2014. She was also a four-time UMAC Academic All-Conference selection in volleyball. Olivia collected numerous UMAC individual event championships in both indoor and outdoor track and field on her way to being recognized as an all-conference performer for indoor track and field in 2014 and 2015 as well as in outdoor track and field in 2014 and 2015. She was a four-time UMAC Academic All-Conference award winner in track and field.
Off the court and away from the track, Krejcarek was just as impressive. She was named to the Dean's List in every semester in which she was eligible and graduated with highest honors. During the 2014-2015 academic year, Olivia served as the Student Senate Board of Trustees Representative, attending and participating in all St. Scholastica Board of Trustees meeting during this time frame. She was a two-year member of the Student Senate. In addition Krejcarek was the recipient of several academic scholarship awards and was part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Pre-Med Club, Biology Club and Concert Choir. This past spring she had a paper on the isolation of bacteriophage accepted for publication in an online journal
Despite pouring numerous hours into her academic and athletics pursuits as part of her undergraduate experience, Olivia found time to volunteer and serve in numerous other avenues in the community. She was a teaching assistant and provided assistance as a volunteer note-taker for disabled students. Krejcarek has spent time reading in local elementary schools, worked with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization in Duluth, assisted the local YMCA and food shelf, and volunteered as a youth sports coach and to shove sand for an accessibility path to Lake Superior.
"Through my collegiate experience I have learned it is what you do when no one is watching that makes all the difference. All of the hours spent studying late at night until I knew I understood class material, all of the extra time practicing in the gym, and all of the early morning volunteering before many others were even awak; these were the hours that made the difference” stated Krejcarek. She added “I have found my passion for serving others as well as a love of learning that stretches far beyond the classroom.”
Each NCAA member institution from all three divisions is encouraged to nominate their own woman of the year, which then goes to the conference level for nomination for the national award, which will include Krejcarek’s bid. Finalists for the UMAC's Woman of the Year nomination included Samantha Brueggeman (Crown College), Megan Johnson (University of Northwestern), and Emilee Koltz (Martin Luther College).
The NCAA will announce its top 30 nominees – 10 from each division – in August of this year before nine finalists emerge from that group. The NCAA will then recognize its Woman of the Year in October.