Former Eastern Mennonite University All-American Hannah Chappell-Dick (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) has been named one of the top 30 honorees for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
She is the first-ever woman from Eastern Mennonite to be named to the top 30 of the annual NCAA honor.
Chappell-Dick, who graduated from Eastern Mennonite University this past spring, earned five All-America honors while running cross country and track & field for the Royals. She finished as the national runner-up in the indoor mile in both 2015 and 2016. Last fall she was named the ODAC Runner of the Year in cross country, and claimed 16 All-ODAC First Team honors between her two sports.
Also a six-time ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Scholar-Athlete, Chappell-Dick was given the 2016 Marjorie Berkley Award as the top female scholar-athlete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. She was a Capital One Academic All-American, as named by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), and graduated Magna Cum Laude from EMU with a 3.85 GPA, majoring in biology with minors of coaching, kinesiology and exercise science, and honors.
Outside of her athletic endeavors, Chappell-Dick served on EMU’s Presidential Search Committee and co-founded the FLASH Track Club, an after-school program for 10-12-year-olds. She was also the president of EMU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
EMU Director of Athletics Dave King said to have Chappell-Dick honored for such a prestigious national award is fitting for how special of a woman she is.
“Choosing a Division III school over other opportunities demonstrated Hannah’s desire to fully integrate athletics, academics, service and student life,” King explained. “She engaged all of her opportunities to experience the breadth and depth of the college experience. Her commitment to excellence in all areas of college life has been rewarded with personal joy and satisfaction in her own life and in the lives of others she has impacted during her time at EMU.”
Chappell-Dick is currently running semi-professionally with the Atlanta Track Club while serving for a year in Atlanta’s inner city, volunteering with “Back on my Feet” through DOOR/Dwell.
A record 517 school nominees were submitted this year for the Woman of the Year award, which was whittled down to 142 conference nominees. The committee selected 30 women from that pool – 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions – representing 13 sports and a host of undergraduate majors, including biology, accounting, criminal justice, education, engineering and computer science.
The top 30 honorees have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership.
“This year’s top 30 honorees have achieved remarkable things during their time in college,” said Sarah Hebberd, chair of the Woman of the Year selection committee and director of compliance at the University of Georgia. “They are model student-athletes for generations of young women to come, and we are immeasurably proud of their accomplishments.”
The selection committee will name nine finalists – three women from each division – in late September. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the 2016 Woman of the Year, who will be announced Oct. 16 at a ceremony in Indianapolis. All of the top 30 honorees will be invited to the ceremony.
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