Central’s Lunning is NCAA Woman of the Year nominee
PELLA—Women’s golfer and triathlete Thea Lunning (Mason City) is Central College’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Established in 1991, the award recognizes graduating female athletes who have distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their college careers.
Lunning graduated with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average and a biology major. She will begin optometry school at the University of Memphis in the fall.
She recently was named to the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-America® Women’s At-Large Team as a third-team selection. After transferring to Central in 2021, Lunning was a two-time American Rivers All-Conference honoree in women’s golf, finishing second in the league tournament at Ames last fall after placing second a year earlier. She helped lead Central to the conference title and a berth in the NCAA Division III Championships at Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida May 9-12, where the Dutch tied for 22nd place. Lunning shared the team’s Maurine Timmer Most Valuable Player Award after winning the Newcomer of the Year Award the previous season. She is a two-time American Rivers Academic All-Conference honoree as well as a three-time WGCA All-America Scholar. She is the third golfer ever named as Central’s nominee.
Lunning also competed on the national stage in triathlon, lettering twice. She was a two-time USA Triathlon College Championships participant, placing 28th in Division III in 2021 and 29th this past fall in the competing for the Dutch at Tempe, Arizona Nov. 12.
Nearly 200 Division III student-athletes were nominated by NCAA member schools for last year’s Woman of the Year Award. Lunning is among two being considered as this year’s American Rivers nominee. After the league’s nomination is submitted, the Woman of the Year selection committee will then pick the top 30 honorees—10 from each division. The top three from each division will be announced in October with the winner announced at the 2024 NCAA Convention in January.
Eight previous Central nominees have advanced to represent the state or the conference at the national level, including the 2019 pick, Dutch softball pitcher Mariah Fritz.
Central College Woman of the Year Award
State winners (1993-2005) or conference winners (since 2006) listed in bold
1993 – Mindi Remsburg, softball
1994 – no award
1995 – Emilie Hanson, women’s basketball
1996 – Anne Snider, volleyball
1997 – Stacey Sonnek, softball
1998 – Aanna Hanson, women’s basketball
1999 – Katie Bandstra, women’s basketball
2000 – Abbie Brown, volleyball/women’s basketball
2001 – Candace Wilson, volleyball
2002 – Angie Nielsen, volleyball
2003 – Libby Hysell, softball
2004 – Raegan Schultz, women’s track and field, volleyball
2005 – Beth Cunningham, women’s cross country, track and field
2006 – Katie Pederson, volleyball, women’s track and field
2007 – Alicia Whisner, volleyball, women’s track and field
2008 – Terri Berger, volleyball
2009 – Alysha Overturf, softball
2010 – Angie Berry, women’s cross country, track and field
2011 – Jill Ziskovsky, women’s track and field
2012 – Sarah Paulson, women’s golf/basketball
2013 – Melony McDermott, women’s track and field/cross country
2014 – Jordan Overland, softball
2015 – Karlee Rock, softball
2016 – Angie Allgood, women’s tennis
2017 – Sydney Lunardi, women’s soccer
2018 – Kate Patton, women’s track and field
2019 – Mariah Fritz, softball
2020 – Emily Opsal, women’s golf
2021 – Sara Tallman, softball
2022 – Krissa Larson, volleyball, women’s track and field
2023 – Thea Lunning, women’s golf, triathlon
