NCAA Woman Of The Year Nomination
MOORHEAD, Minn. (6/26/20)---Senior cross country and track and field student-athlete Miriah Forness has been selected as Concordia's nomination for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award, established in 1991, honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
Beginning in 2006, conferences were empowered to select up to two nominees each from the pool of school nominees. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, chooses the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division. From the Top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists each September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses the NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
The very first MIAC nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year award in 2006 was Concordia All-American Track & Field athlete Angie Pfeiffer.
Forness was a 4-year member of the Cobber indoor and outdoor track and field team and participated in cross country during her junior and senior seasons. She owns the No.5 fastest time in school history in the 3000-meter steeplechase and earned MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention honors in the event at the 2019 conference outdoor meet. She also placed in the Top 8 of the MIAC in the 400-meter hurdles and pole vault at last year's conference outdoor meet.
Forness also earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors in the 800 meters at the 2020 MIAC Indoor Meet. Her finishing time in the 800 this winter was the eighth fastest in program history.
Forness was the No.3 runner for the cross country team in 2019 and finished in the Top 40 at the MIAC Cross Country Meet in November.
Forness also excelled in the class room and with her extra-curricular activities while at Concordia. She carried a 3.98 grade point average while majoring in Chemistry. She was a multiple-year MIAC Academic All-Conference honoree and was a member of the Dean's List at Concordia.
Forness also found time to be involved with multiple campus and community activities. She volunteered with Habitat For Humanity, Special Olympics, Hope, Inc. and HERO.
Forness was also awarded the Super Cobb Award at this year's Golden Cobbs ceremony. The Super Cobb award honors the Concordia student-athlete who excels in honors athletic performance, classroom excellence and community involvement.