HUNTSVILLE | The NCAA Woman of the Year nominees were announced on Friday morning, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville was represented by former track & field and cross country standout Michelle Kruse.
 
Now in its 25th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service and leadership. To be eligible for the award, a female student-athlete must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2015 spring season, graduated no later than the end of the summer 2015 term and achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.5.
 
Kruse, a four-year runner for UAH track & field, has been a Peach Belt Conference individual champion in each of the past three seasons in the 10,000 meter (2013, 2015) and 5,000 meter (2014) to go along with USTFCCCA Outdoor and Indoor All-South Region accolades in 2014 and 2015.
 
Also a member of the women's cross country team, Kruse has been awarded several times in her four years with the Blue and White, including All-GSC in each year of competition and USTFCCCA All-South Region for the previous two seasons. The Huntsville native led the way for the Chargers at the 2015 NCAA South Regional with a fourth-place finish at a time of 22:32.81 to earn a trip to Nationals, where she finished 120th out of a field of 249 runners.
 
Outside of competition, Kruse has recorded three Academic All-PBC honors and three Academic All-District nods in addition UAH's Scholar Athlete Gold and Silver Academic Excellence Awards during her collegiate career.
 
Moreover, she has been an active member in the community as a volunteer for the David McKannan Run for Research 5k, while maintaining a 3.37 cumulative GPA in UAH's highly rated nursing program.
 
The NCAA asks each conference to submit nominees, from which a selection committee of representatives from NCAA member schools and conferences will choose the top 10 honorees in each division. Of those 30 honorees, the committee then determines three finalists from Division I, II and III to form the Top Nine. Finally, the members of the committee will vote from among the Top Nine finalists to determine the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year.