Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Berry nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year Award
06/29/2011 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois track and field alumnus Gwen Berry was selected as SIU's nominee for the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
The NCAA presents the Woman of the Year award annually to honor outstanding female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics, leadership and community service. Berry was one of 473 nominees from across the NCAA's three divisions that was nominated for the award.
Since the Missouri Valley Conference did not select Berry as its Woman of the Year representative, she is no longer in contention for the national NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The NCAA will announce 30 finalists for the award (10 from each division) in late August.
Berry graduated from SIU this spring with a bachelor's degree in psychology, finishing with a cumulative GPA of 3.337. A two-time All-American and four-time MVC event champion, Berry ranks second in school history in three events (hammer throw, outdoor shot put, indoor weight throw) and third in the indoor shot put. She posted the longest collegiate marks in the nation for both the weight throw and the hammer throw in 2011.
