SUWANEE, Ga. -- In exclusive voting by the Senior Woman Administrators of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Kendall Accetta of Colorado College has been selected 2024 SCAC Woman of the Year.
In addition to being recognized as SCAC Woman of the Year, she will be nominated for the 34th annual NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
“We all are very proud and excited for Kendall and all she has accomplished this season," said Colorado College Vice President and Director of Athletics Lesley Irvine. "She is a leader in all ways, and we’re excited for her to gain the SCAC Woman of the Year recognition. Kendall embodies championship culture in the way she leads, competes, and works in the classroom. She’s continuously impressed us with her dedication to excellence, and we couldn’t be more excited for her.”
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service and leadership.
Accetta becomes CC's second consecutive SCAC Woman of the Year honoree and fourth overall since the institution joined the conference prior to the 2006-07 academic year. Kate Brush was named the league's WOTY last year, Isabelle Aragon-Menzel earned a share of the award in 2021 and Melanie Auguste won the award in 2009.
A native of Portland, Ore., Accetta graduated with a 3.95 cumulative grade-point average as a double major in English and Political Science and was recently named to the Division III Academic All-America Track & Field/Cross Country Third Team by College Sports Communicators.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award than Kendall," said CC head track and field and assistant cross country coach Katie Bretscher. "She has been an exceptional leader in the classroom, on the track and in the campus community. She played such a critical role in the cross country and track & field team’s success during her career."
"I’m extremely happy for Kendall to receive this conference award that recognizes her many achievements.”
Accetta produced an outstanding 2023-24 campaign in both cross country and track & field, including being named the SCAC Runner of the Year after winning the 2023 individual cross country title and helping the Tigers to a Top 25 result at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship Meet, where she placed 44th individually out of 292 runners.
She followed that up this past spring by finishing 12th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, earning her second All-America honor in that event. Accetta was named the SCAC Women's Track Athlete of the Year after winning the steeplechase and the 1,500-meter races at the league meet and she holds the school record in the steeplechase (10:38.73).
Accetta, who was named the recipient of the Laura Golden award as Colorado College's top female student-athlete among the 2024 graduating class, was very active in the campus community, such as Co- Community Engagement Officer for SAAC, volunteering with TESSA and organizing student volunteers to help every other week.
"The first word that comes to mind while reflecting on my Colorado College experience is balance," said Accetta. "As a scholar, athlete, leader, community member, friend, and daughter, I have learned the profound importance of balancing the multitudes that shape my life. It is through this constant pursuit of balance that I have found fulfillment and success."
"No matter the endeavor, during my time at Colorado College I strived to balance excellence with empathy, appreciating that success arises from both audacious goals and self-love."
Accetta was one of seven outstanding nominees considered by the SCAC Woman of the Year Committee. The other candidates were:
- Samantha Thiele, Swimming, Austin College
- Madeline Vacula, Swimming & Track and Field, Centenary College
- Johnna Campbell, Soccer, Southwestern University
- Mallerie Munson, Softball, University of St. Thomas
- Sydney Ouellette, Softball, Texas Lutheran University
- Brette Thornton, Volleyball, Trinity University
As the SCAC winner, Accetta will be nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, one of the most prestigious honors the NCAA bestows. The award recognizes senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.
All conference nominees will be forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee will choose the top 10 nominees in each division. From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then selects the NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.
In conjunction with the changes in the nomination process for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Woman of the Year award was established for the 2005-06 athletic season. Beginning in 2006, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA) started receiving conference-designated nominees in lieu of the previous institution- and state-based nomination format.
From 1991 to 2005, each state had a woman of the year honoree and from that group 10 finalists were selected. From the top-10 finalists, the national winner was then chosen. Since 2006, each conference and independent school forwards nominations to the NCAA.
To read about past winners of the SCAC Woman-of-the-Year award, click here.
2023 - Kate Brush, swimming, Colorado College
2022 - Kelly Jurden, softball, Texas Lutheran University
2018 - Britney Sullivan, outdoor track and field, Trinity University
2017 - Amanda Lochte, softball, Texas Lutheran University
2015 - Emily Jorgens, soccer, Trinity University
2013 - Rachel Thibodeau, volleyball, Southwestern University
