Indianapolis, IN - The
NCAA announced this week 517 female student-athletes across NCAA Division I, II, and III that were nominated for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. The nomination pool is the largest in the 26-year history of the award which was established in 1991.
Allen is one of 169 nominations from NCAA Division III, the second-largest group of women put forward for the honor. Division I led the way with 231 nominations, with 117 women nominated from NCAA Division II.
As described by the NCAA, "the...Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership." The NCAA encourages all members schools to honor their top graduating female student-athlete by submitting them for the award.
With all of the nominations now collected, the following process will narrow the pool down to the final winner: first, conference assess their nominees and selects two women to move forward; second, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose 30 finalists, with 10 women each from Division I, II, and III; third, the selection committee will determine the top three honorees from each Division and announce them in September; and finally, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the Woman of the Year to be announced on October 16 in Indianapolis.
Allen's nomination was announced just over a week after she was
named the Messiah College Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She graduated this spring as one of the most-decorated student-athletes in Messiah history, and she was a main contributor to the Falcons'
NCAA Division III Runner-Up finish in softball earlier this month. A quick rundown of Allen's accomplishments as a student-athlete is as follows:
- 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for NCAA Division III Softball
- 2x CoSIDA Academic All-American
- 3x CoSIDA Academic All-District
- 2016 MAC Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Softball
- 2016 Second Team NFCA All-American (Pitcher)
- 2016 First Team NFCA All-East Region
- 3x NFCA All-East Region
- MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Year
- 3x All-MAC Commonwealth
- 3x Academic All-MAC
- 4x MAC Academic Honor Roll
- 2016 season: 27-1 pitching record with 1.59 ERA across 198.2 inning pitched; 156 strikeouts and .232 batting average against
- Softball career at the plate: 190 hits (6th all-time), 141 runs scored (t-1st), 106 RBI (4th), 14 triples (t-1st), and 55 extra-base hits.
Allen's accomplishments off the field were just as impressive as won this year's Impact Venture Challenge, a Messiah College-run version of
Shark Tank, in support of her non-profit startup Accounting Beyond Borders, which provides financial services to missionaries across the world. Allen was also a multi-year recipient of a scholarship from the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Professional Accountants, was listed within Who's Who Among Students in American Universitites and Colleges, won the Zook Outstanding Junior Accounting Major Award, and was a four-year member of Messiah College's Honors Program. Allen's service and leadership efforts also included multiple service trips to Panama and leadership of Messiah's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
As mentioned, Allen helped Messiah to a National Runner-Up finish in softball this year, which also included a program-record 47 wins.
