July 2, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . Wartburg College senior volleyball and track & field student-athlete Kelsey Steffens (DeWitt, Iowa/Central Clinton) has been named the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.

A nine-time Iowa Conference champion and an eight-time All-American, Steffens completed her Knights career May 23 by anchoring Wartburg’s 400-meter relay to a national title. It was her third career national title, as she previously ran on championship-winning 1,600-meter relays at the 2008 NCAA outdoor and 2009 NCAA indoor meets. She graduates as the Wartburg school-record holder in the indoor 55-meter hurdles (8.30 seconds) and as a member of six school-record relays.

On the volleyball court, Steffens was an All-Iowa Conference Second Team selection in 2008 and an honorable mention All-IIAC pick in 2007. She ended her career ranked in the top-10 in school history in kills and attack attempts.

Steffens, who graduated with a 3.84 grade-point average, was a two-time CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII selection in both volleyball and track & field with First Team honors coming in track & field in both 2008 and 2009. She was also a named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team twice and was a member of the Iowa Conference All-Academic Team each of the past three academic years for both volleyball and track & field.

In August, the top 10 honorees per division will be announced for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. In September, the field of 30 semifinalists will be narrowed to three per division. The top 10 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and III will be honored and the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year winner announced at a dinner in Indianapolis on October 18, 2009.

NCAA Woman of the Year Information

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