CINCINNATI - Loretta Blaut and Annette Echikunwoke, both of whom recently completed their athletic careers with the University of Cincinnati track & field program, have been nominated by UC for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The duo are no stranger to awards as they combined for 11 USTFCCCA All-America honors and 14 American Athletic Conference individual titles between them.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which was established in 1991, annually recognizes graduating female college student-athletes from all three divisions (NCAA Division I, II & III) who have exhausted their athletic eligibility and, throughout their careers, distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership. This year, a record 585 women were nominated by their respective institutions, including 262 from Division I, 131 from Division II and 192 from Division III. The nominees also represent 23 different sports with 144 individuals listed as multi sport student-athletes.
The Bearcats duo are among 116 track & field student-athletes nominated across the three divisions and are among the 11 nominees from members of the AAC, joining SMU, UCF and USF with two nominations each while UConn, Houston and ECU each have one nominee. The conference nominees include four track & field, two basketball, and one each from rowing, equestrian, softball, volleyball and tennis. With those nominations submitted, the AAC, along with all other represented conferences, will now select up to two nominees each from the pool of school nominees and will be announced in August. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division. The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30 and announce the nine finalists in September. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year. The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named at the annual award ceremony Oct. 20 in Indianapolis.
Blaut saw her collegiate career come to a close at the end of the 2019 indoor season where she finished third in the high jump at the NCAA Championships to earn her fifth USTFCCCA All-America First Team honor and the sixth All-America certificate of her career after earning second-team honors at the 2016 indoor meet. The 2018 NCAA indoor and outdoor runner-up in the high jump, Blaut also was a five-time AAC champion as she won the last five conference meets she entered, sweeping the 2017 and 2018 high jump titles at the indoor and outdoor competitions before claiming the 2019 indoor crown in her final season of eligibility. She also was twice named the AAC Female Field Most Outstanding Performer Award recipient for recording the top mark on the weekend at the conference meet. The local product from nearby Seton High School, Blaut ended her career atop the program's all-time Top 10 as she tied for the school record indoors with a best of 1.87m (6-01.50) while claiming the top spot outdoors with a best of 1.88m (6-02.00) with both marks also ranking as the best ever recorded in the AAC.
Echikunwoke, who completed her eligibility after the 2019 outdoor season, had an equally stellar career, one that included her capturing the 2017 NCAA Indoor Weight Throw title, the first national championship won in the history of the program. A three-time USTFCCCA All-America First Team honoree indoors in the weight throw, including a national runner-up showing at the 2018 competition, Echikunwoke recently capped her career as the first UC woman to qualify to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in two individual events as she competed in the hammer before placing ninth in the shot put to earn USTFCCCA All-America Second Team honors for her first career award. On a conference level, Echikunwoke was an eight-time AAC champion as she won the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer three times each and added one shot put crown indoor and out. In her career, she posted school records in four events, including the indoor weight throw (23.69m/77-08.75) - which also ranks third in NCAA history - indoor shot put (16.72m/54-10.25), outdoor hammer (65.41m/214-07) and outdoor shot put (16.79m/55-01.00) while ranking fifth in the discus (49.11m/161-01). Additionally, her marks in the weight and hammer are AAC records.
Dating back to the 2016 nominations, the track & field program has been well represented with Erika Hurd (2016), Juliana Madzia (2017) and Kellsa Mbah (2018) receiving nominations. Additionally, Madzia was nominated by the AAC, but was not selected to the Top 30.
Blaut, Echikunwoke Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year Honor
Loretta Blaut and Annette Echikunwoke, both of whom recently completed their athletic careers with the University of Cincinnati track & field program, have been nominated by UC for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
