MORGAN BUCKNER AMONG 2002 NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Former Ferris State Student-Athlete Selected Among 10 National Finalists

This is the 12th year that the Woman of the Year Award has been given. The finalists were selected by a committee comprised of athletics administrators from NCAA member colleges and universities from more than 340 entries. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2002 NCAA Woman of the Year from among the 10 finalists. The national winner will be announced at an awards dinner November 2 at the Westin Hotel in Indianapolis, Ind.

This award recognizes young women in intercollegiate athletics for their outstanding achievements in athletics, academics and community service.

The 10 finalists for the 2002 NCAA Woman of the Year award include an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, members of two national championship teams, six conference championship teams and seven athletic all-Americans. In addition, five of the 10 finalists are involved with NCAA campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC). SAAC is a committee made up of student-athlete leaders assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience. The SAAC also offers input on the rules, regulations and polices that affect student-athletes' lives on NCAA member institution campuses and it is the "student voice" in the NCAA's governance structure.

This year's finalists, who have an average grade-point of 3.762 on a 4.000 scale, graduated or will graduate with degrees in majors such as neurobiology, physiology, mathematics, recreation leadership management, criminal justice and plant science. They are volunteers who worked with Special Olympics, literacy programs, prison ministries, food banks and Meals on Wheels. They walked horses carrying disabled children, interned in a pediatrics emergency ward and a geriatrics department and counseled victims of sexual assault.

Of the finalists, six are from Division I member institutions, two from Division II and two from Division III. They competed in a variety of sports, including cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball, ice hockey, gymnastics, soccer and rowing, representing schools in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Utah, Vermont and Washington.

The 10 finalists for 2002 are:

Tanisha Silas, California, University of California, Davis - Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field.

Angela Knopf, Colorado, Colorado State University - Volleyball.

Katie Ryan, Massachusetts, Boston College - Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field.

Morgan Buckner, Michigan, Ferris State University - Volleyball, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field.

Sarah Moe, Minnesota, Gustavus Adolphus College - Ice Hockey.

Ann Marie Brooks, Missouri, University of Missouri, Columbia - Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field.

Jaimeeganleong Soohoo Reynolds, New York, Cornell University - Volleyball, Lacrosse.

Shannon Bowles, Utah, University of Utah - Gymnastics.

Alison Connolly, Vermont, Middlebury College - Lacrosse, Soccer.

Anna Mickelson, Washington, University of Washington - Rowing.

Last year's winner was Kimberly A. Black, a four-time NCAA all-American and an Olympic gold-medal swimmer from the University of Georgia. Other past winners include: 2000 - Kristy Kowal, swimming, University of Georgia; 1999 - Jamila Demby, track and field, University of California, Davis; 1998 - Peggy Boutilier, lacrosse and field hockey, University of Virginia; 1997 - the late Lisa Ann Coole, swimming and diving, University of Georgia; 1996 - Billie Winsett Fletcher, volleyball, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; 1995 - Rebecca Lobo, basketball, University of Connecticut; 1994 - Tanya Hughes Jones, track and field, University of Arizona; 1993 - Nnenna Jean Lynch, cross country and track and field, Villanova University; 1992 - Catherine Byrne Maloney, swimming and diving, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and 1991 - Mary Beth Riley-Metcalf, cross country, Canisius College.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors outstanding female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership, and have completed their intercollegiate athletics eligibility. More than 340 student-athletes were nominated for this year’s award by their respective colleges and universities, which were each allowed to submit the names of two nominees if one was an ethnic minority. The selection committee then reviewed the nominees’ academic and athletics accomplishments, community service and involvement activities to determine the state-level award recipients.

A third-team 2001-02 Verizon Academic All-America College Division Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country Team honoree, Buckner was a four-year varsity letterwinner in women’s volleyball and indoor and outdoor track and field at Ferris State. She compiled a 3.69 cumulative grade point average while earning two degrees in applied speech communication and recreation leadership management. The two-time President’s Academic Award recipient also volunteered for a wide variety of community service organizations and held numerous campus leadership positions, including serving as the Lambda Phi Eta National Communication Honor Society Chapter President.

Buckner, who participated in the 21st annual NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships (May 23-25) at Angelo State University’s Multipurpose Sports Complex in San Angelo, Texas, reached the 100-meter hurdle national provisional qualification mark with a first-place school-record time (14.48) at the 2002 GLIAC Outdoor Championships (May 3-4) held at Northwood University’s Fisher Track in Midland, Mich. A second-team 2001 Arthur Ashe Jr. Track and Field Sports Scholar, she finished sixth overall (14.49) in the second heat of the 100-meter hurdle national preliminary round but failed to advance to the national finals.

A seven-time all-conference track and field performer, Buckner earned NCAA-II Indoor All-America recognition last season with an eighth-place (8.86) 60-meter hurdle performance at the 2002 NCAA-II Indoor Track and Field Championships (March 8-9) in the Reggie Lewis Center at Boston, Mass.

Buckner, Ferris’ 2001-02 Helen Bennett Award (outstanding female student-athlete) recipient, registered 10 combined first-place finishes last year in both the indoor and outdoor campaigns. The three-time (2000-02) conference outdoor 100-meter hurdle champion also claimed her second consecutive league indoor 55-meter hurdle title at the 2001-02 GLIAC Indoor Championships (Feb. 22-23) held at Hillsdale College’s Jessie Phillips Arena in Hillsdale, Mich. Buckner, who received Ferris’ 2002 track and field Most Valuable Performer Award, was named to the 2001-02 GLIAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field All-Academic Teams.

During her FSU volleyball career (1997-2000), Buckner recorded 1,429 kills, 765 digs and 207 blocks. The three-time (1998-2000) GLIAC All-Academic volleyball pick currently ranks fifth overall among Ferris State's career kills leaders and is fourth in average kills per game (3.01 kpg). A 2000 FSU tri-captain, Buckner led the Bulldogs to a 26-8 overall record as a junior (1999) while becoming the ninth player in school history to register 1,000 career kills. She earned 1999 second-team All-GLIAC honors and was named to the 1999 NCAA-II Great Lakes Region All-Tournament Team.