JENNY IRWIN HONORED AT NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR BANQUET

Ferris State All-American Was Among Nine Finalists For Prestigious National Award

NCAA Woman Of The Year Banquet

Ferris State's Jenny Irwin (far right in top photo) is shown at the 2006 NCAA Woman of the Year Awards banquet. The national finalists are displayed in the bottom photo. (Courtesy NCAA Photos)

Irwin was among nine national finalists for the 2006 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which honors outstanding senior student-athletes for their cumulative collegiate achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics. Student-athlete nominations for this year’s award were submitted by each institution and reviewed by the respective conference office. Upon receiving nominations from its member institutions, each conference was responsible for assessing each nominee’s eligibility and subsequently selecting a conference nominee based on collective achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics.

A 2006 FSU graduate, Irwin was chosen as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (GLIAC) nominee this campaign. All conference nominees were forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee named the top 10 winners in each NCAA division (I, III and III). From among those 30 conference honorees, the selection committee then determined the top three in each division. Finally, the members of the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) voted from among the top nine to determine the 2006 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The national winner, Anne Bersagel, a former cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field student-athlete at Wake Forest University, was announced at the dinner held for the top 10 honorees from NCAA Divisions I, II and III in Indianapolis.

"We're extremely pleased for Jenny and the athletics program," said FSU Athletics Director Tom Kirinovic. "This is a tremendous acknowledgment of the efforts she's put in during her career at Ferris State in addition to great recognition for our university.

"It really is an outstanding honor for Jenny as well as our track and field/cross country program and the entire university."

Irwin is the second FSU student-athlete to be named a national finalist for this honor in the last five years as former Bulldog standout Morgan Buckner (1997-02), who participated in both volleyball along with track and field at Ferris, placed among the top 10 finalists after being chosen as Michigan's statewide recipient under the previous selection format in 2002.

Ferris is one of only six athletics programs in the entire country to have two or more student-athletes be recognized as a national finalist for this award in the last five years. The other schools include Tennessee, Alabama, Washington & Lee (Va.), Barry (Fla.) and California-Davis. Since the award began in 1994, less than 25 institutions nationwide have had multiple national finalists, including Ferris State.

Irwin wrapped up a stellar collegiate career by being chosen as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Women's Track/Cross Country First-Team selection for the 2005-06 athletics season. She previously was honored as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV First-Team pick. Irwin not only claimed Academic All-America honors in her final season, but completed a personal sweep with All-America honors in cross country, indoor track along with outdoor track during the 2005-06 campaign.

Irwin picked up outdoor All-America accolades in the final day of action (May 27) at the 2006 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Emporia State's (Kan.) Zola Witten Track inside Fran Welch Stadium at Emporia, Kan. She took fourth place overall (4:38.11) in the 1,500 meters in her final collegiate race. Irwin also competed in the 800 meters at the national meet.

Last season marked the second consecutive year Irwin picked up All-America honors in the 1,500 meters as she posted a fourth-place finish in the event (4:30.60) at the 2005 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships (May 26-28) held at Abilene Christian University's Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene, Texas. It also represented Irwin's third consecutive appearance in the NCAA-II Outdoor Championships following an 11th place overall showing in the 1,500 meters (4:40.73) as FSU's lone representative at the 2004 NCAA-II Outdoor Championships (May 27-29) held in Walnut, Calif.

Irwin picked up FSU cross country team Most Valuable Runner accolades in 2005-06 after earning All-America honors with a 20th-place finish in the 25th annual NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Championships held last fall (Nov. 19) in Pomona, Calif. Irwin completed the six-kilometer (K) race in a time of 22:11.7 to become the first female women's cross country All-American in Bulldog history. Her performance also represented the highest finish ever for a FSU women's performer at the Division II Women's Cross Country Championships. A four-year letterwinner, Irwin claimed first-team All-GLIAC honors for the third consecutive season during the fall 2005 campaign with a runner-up effort (22:57.6) at the 2005 GLIAC Championships (Oct. 22) in Marquette, Mich.

In addition, Irwin also received Ferris' Most Valuable Runner Award for the women's track and field middle distance/distance events last campaign. She claimed the GLIAC Most Valuable Running Event Athlete Award in the women's competition as she won two individual events and received one runner-up finish at the 2006 GLIAC Outdoor Championships (May 4-5) held at FSU's Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich. Irwin took the 800 meters as she clocked 2:11.44 in the final round and also emerged victorious in the 1,500 meters (4:39.93). She placed second in the 3,000 meters (10:08.63). During the 2005-06 indoor campaign, Irwin earned NCAA-II All-America laurels with a fourth-place overall finish (4:49.13) in the mile run at the NCAA-II Indoor Track and Field Championships (March 10-11) in Boston, Mass.

Irwin, who received the 2005-06 GLIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, also was awarded both the 20th annual FSU Helen Bennett Memorial Award and the school's annual Dean Davenport "Bulldog of the Year" Award for outstanding female student-athlete along with being recognized as a Ferris Scholar-Athlete Award recipient in 2005-06. The four-year letterwinner attained GLIAC All-Academic Team honors for the third consecutive year in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track last campaign. She concluded her FSU career with track records in six different events.

The National Finalists Included
(Name, School, Conference, Sport, Hometown):

• Anne Bersagel, Wake Forest University, Atlantic Coast Conference, Cross Country - Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. Hometown: Greeley, Colo.
• Janelle Engle, Old Dominion University, Colonial Athletic Association, Field Hockey. Hometown: Mount Joy, Pa.
• Angela Homan, Auburn University, Southeastern Conference, Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. Hometown: Spencerville, Ohio.
• Jenny Irwin, Ferris State University, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Cross Country - Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. Hometown: Scottville, Mich.
• Adrianne Musu Jackson-Buckner, State University College at Oneonta, State University of New York Athletic Conference, Field hockey - Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.
• Angela Pfeiffer, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. Hometown: Colman, S.D.
• Bethany Rehm, Texas Woman's University, Independent, Gymnastics. Hometown: St. Charles, Mo.
• Christyn Schumann, Trinity University (Texas), Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. Hometown: Dripping Springs, Texas.
• Greta Trotman, Barry University, Sunshine State Conference, Tennis. Hometown: Palmetto, Fla.