Celine Ritter, Lee University track and field All-American, has been named as the Gulf South Conference's NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.
photo by Lee Athletic Communications
Lee women's cross country and track and field All-American, Celine Ritter has been selected as the Gulf South Conference nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year honor the NCAA announced this week. Nationally, 152 conference-level honorees are nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.
Ritter became the second Lady Flame to earn the GSC Commissioner's Trophy this past May as the top Female Athlete in the league.
She had an impressive season on the track and the classroom in 2020-21. The senior earned USTFCCCA First Team All-American honors in three different events at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Competing in the indoor 3000-meter run, she broke a 36-year old NCAA DII record and eventually won the national championship at the Indoor Championships. She also captured her second straight GSC Cross Country Individual Title highlighted by a record 5K time of 17:01.68.
Ritter was named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Cross Country National Athlete of the Week three times and picked up USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Track & Field Athlete of the Week.
The Roesrath, Germany native carried a 3.86 GPA in her Psychology major and was a USTFCCCA and GSC All-Academic Team member. Her community service efforts include working with The Breakfast Club food shelter and at the Ocoee Middle School.
"Celine is a well-balanced individual," said Lee cross country and track & field head coach Caleb Morgan. "She puts an equal amount of energy into her academics, community outreach and athletics. This is not only a great honor for her, but for our team. We are extremely proud of her."
Conference-level nominees will be forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee, which will choose the top 10 honorees in each of the three NCAA divisions. The NCAA will announce the Top 30 honorees on ncaa.org in September. Should you be selected as one of the Top 30 honorees, you will be personally notified by the NCAA.
From those 30 candidates, the selection committee determines the top three finalists in each division. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year from the nine finalists. You can learn more about the award, selection process and previous winners at ncaa.org/woty.
The 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced later this fall.