MADISON, Wis. - University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Maria Peloquin (Sr.-Prescott, Wis.) has been named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) nominee for the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
All conference nominees have been forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee that will select the top 10 winners in each division (NCAA Divisions I, II and III). From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. Finally, the members of the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will vote from among the top nine finalists to determine the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year.
The top 10 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and III will be honored, and the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year winner, announced at a dinner in Indianapolis October 16, 2011.
In order to be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2010-11 competitive season, received her undergraduate degree prior to the conclusion of the summer 2011 term, and achieved a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.50 (on a 4.00 scale).
A native of Prescott, Wis., Peloquin was a two-year letterwinner for the cross country team and four-year letterwinner on the track and field squads. She majored in kinesiology and accumulated a 3.84 grade point average. Peloquin was a three-time selection to the United States Track and Field and Cross
Country Coaches Association All-Academic Track and Field Team and a four-year honoree on the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. She was named to UW-Eau Claire's Dean's List seven semesters and earned Academic Distinction eight times.
As a member of the cross country squad, she served as team captain her senior season and was a member of UW-Eau Claire's NCAA Division III national championship unit in 2009.
She was a three-time indoor All-American, placing seventh at the NCAA Division III Championship with the 1,600-meter relay squad in 2008 and 2009, and earning a second-place finish in the distance medley relay in 2010. Peloquin contributed to the triumphant 1,600-meter relay quartet at the 2008 WIAC indoor meet.
Peloquin was a member of UW-Eau Claire's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Kinesiology Club. She served as a volunteer at Sacred Heart Hospital, Athletes in Action, Relay For Life, Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis and UW-Eau Claire's Community Fitness Program.
Additional individuals from the WIAC nominated for this year's NCAA Woman of the Year Award included: UW-Platteville's Gina Smith (East Troy, Wis.), UW-River Falls' Colleen Kopel (Stillwater, Minn.), UW-Superior's Cassey Hoffmann (Mukwonago, Wis.) and UW-Whitewater's Jessica Stang (Minnetonka, Minn.).
