Luther's Abby Spore Nominated for 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Six student athletes have been nominated by their institutions for the NCAA Woman of the Year. Central's Megan Johnson, Coe's Heather Boeckenstedt, Luther's Abby Spore, Nebraska Wesleyan's Breanne Geary and Isabella Hogue, and Wartburg's Aubrie Fisher are this year's institutional nominees. Full biographies on each of the athletes can be found below. Each year, NCAA member schools are encouraged to celebrate their top graduating female student-athletes by nominating them for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Up to two female student-athletes can be recognized from each school if at least one of them is an international student-athlete or student-athlete of color. Conference offices will then select up to two student-athletes from their member school nominations. The Woman of the Year Selection Committee will then select 10 student-athletes from each division, determining the top 30 honorees. Of the top 30, the Woman of the Year Selection Committee will announce nine finalists, three from each NCAA division. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will receive the finalists and name the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year. The top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the Women of the Year will be named at the NCAA Convention. The 2025 Convention will take place in January in Nashville, Tennessee. The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) will proudly announce the conference nominee(s) on Friday, August 2, 2024 at noon. Megan Johnson, Central CollegeJohnson, a kinesiology major, graduated with a 3.94 GPA. Johnson competed in women's track & field and cross country. Track & field was her primary sport. A seven-time All-American, Johnson finished her senior season with her best moment yet, winning the 3000-meter steeplechase national title at the 2024 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In the league, Johnson was named the 2024 Outdoor Most Valuable Track Performer following her performance at the conference championships. She currently holds the A-R-C record in the 3000-meter steeplechase and Central records in the outdoor 1,500 meters, 3000-meter steeplechase, outdoor 10,000 meters, distance medley relay, and indoor 3,000 meters. Academically, Johnson is a five-time A-R-C Academic All-Conference honoree. She has additionally earned four USTFCCCA All-Academic honors and was named first-team on the College Sport Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America team in 2023. Outside of the classroom and while running, Johnson has been actively involved with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at Central. Additionally, she has participated in three service projects on Central's campus, has been an active member of the kinesiology club at Central, and even led boxing classes for individuals with Parkinson's disease in Pella. Heather Boeckenstedt, Coe CollegeBoeckenstedt, a nursing major, graduated with a 3.78 GPA. Boeckenstedt participated in softball for the Kohawks. Boeckenstedt finished her career at Coe as a Third-Team NFCA All-American after leading the Kohawks to the Super Regionals after a trip to the Division III Softball Semifinals a year prior. She was named the MVP of the Greencastle Regional this past spring. In 2022, she was named NFCA Third-Team All-Region, and in 2024, she was selected for the First-Team. She picked up three All-Conference honors during her career, including two First-Team honors. In her three full seasons with the Kohawks, she started 123 of 123 games. In the classroom, Boeckenstedt is a three-time A-R-C Academic All-Conference honoree, a 2022 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete and a 2023 CSC Academic All-District team member. Not only was Boeckenstedt competing at a high level on the field, but she was also a full-time surgical ICU nurse at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids. Additionally, she completed over 800 hours of preceptorships and internships at local hospitals during her junior and senior years, while also being a four-year member of the student nursing association. She was a parliamentarian of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority her senior year. Abby Spore, Luther CollegeSpore, a biology major with a minor in chemistry, graduated with a 3.57 GPA. Spore participated in softball at Luther College. In 2023, Spore was not only named an NFCA First-Team All-American, but she was also named to the Diamond Sports/NFCA Division III Catcher of the Year after picking up A-R-C Position Player of the Year honors. She earned All-Region honors in 2023 and 2024 on top of being named to the NCAA Division III All-Tournament Team at regionals in 2023. Spore was named A-R-C First-Team All-Conference in 2023 and 2024 and earned second-team honors in 2021. When she arrived on campus, she made a quick impression, being named the Luther Female Newcomer of the Year, ending it as the Luther Female Athlete of the Year. In the classroom, Spore was a two-time A-R-C Academic All-Conference honoree. She was named to the College Sport Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Team in 2024, and selected to the second-team, and was a CSC First-Team Academic All-District selection twice. She was an NFCA Scholar-Athlete in 2021 and 2022. Outside of her impressive performance on the diamond, Spore was actively involved with the Luther campus and in the Decorah community. In the fall, she could be found in the football press box, overseeing official statistics. She was actively involved with Luther's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Luther's Dance Marathon. For Dance Marathon, she was a morale captain, assisting in recruiting new members. Spore also helped the Norse put on sponsored events. She volunteered at the Decorah Food Pantry, was a freshman orientation leader, and assisted with softball camps. Additionally, she has been an assistant softball coach at Decorah High School and North Linn High School. Breanne Geary, Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityGeary, a sports management major with a minor in business administration, graduated with a 3.82 GPA. Geary participated in track & field at Nebraska Wesleyan. Geary picked up two All-American honors during her senior campaign. Her 4x400 relay team finished ninth at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships then eighth to get on the podium at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field championships. She is a two-time USTFCCCA Midwest All-Region selection as well as a seven-time all-conference performer. She is the current record holder for the Prairie Wolves in the sprint medley relay. Academically, Geary was a three-time A-R-C Academic All-Conference honoree. She earned the Scott Bostwick Award at Nebraska Wesleyan University, was named to the All-Wesleyan Team, and earned the Student Life Leadership Award. She was named to the College Sport Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, she was named USTFCCCA All-Academic for all four years. Geary has devoted herself to professional development through her years at Nebraska Wesleyan. She was an active member of the American Rivers Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the vice president on campus. She attended the NCAA Career in Sports Forum, just one of 200 selected. Geary was additionally one of 40 Division III student-athletes selected to attend the NCAA Division III Immersion Program. She was the event manager at Nebraska Wesleyan for men's and women's soccer and was the head intramurals supervisor. Geary spent time assisting Visit Lincoln and the Nebraska School Activities Association. Isabella Hogue, Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityHogue, a communication studies major with a minor in marketing, graduated with a 4.00 GPA. Hogue participated in track & field for the Prairie Wolves. Hogue finished her career as a three-time national champion. All three national titles were won in 2022. At the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, she won the 200m dash. At the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, she won the 100m dash and 200m dash. In addition, she earned a total of nine All-American honors. She earned numerous All-Region and All-Conference honors throughout her career. She is the conference championship record holder in the indoor 60m and 400m. Her time in the indoor 400m is also the all-time conference record. She holds records at Nebraska Wesleyan in the indoor 400m, indoor 60m, outdoor 200m, outdoor 100m, outdoor sprint medley relay, and indoor 200m. In the classroom, she was named the NCAA Division III USTFCCCA Outdoor Track & Field National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year in 2022. She was named a College Sports Communicator (CSC) All-District honoree in 2022 and 2023 while being selected to the CSC First-Team Academic All-America Team in 2023. She graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan as one of only nine students with a 4.0, earning the highest distinction along with the Gold Key award through Phi Kappa Phi. Outside of the classroom and off the track, Hogue was an administrative assistant for the NWU Athletic Department and the 93.7 Ticket Marketing/Producer Intern. She volunteered with CEDARS as a researcher and was an academic tutor. Additionally, she taught young dancers skills related to acrobatics as a guest instructor and choreographer at Janice's Dance Studio. Aubrie Fisher, Wartburg CollegeFisher, a psychology and sociology major, graduated with a 3.93 GPA. Fisher participated in cross country and track & field. Outdoor track & field was her primary sport. Fisher ended her career as a two-time national champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2021 and 2023 and picked up a national title in the distance medley relay in 2022. Fisher is a 16-time All-American. In 2020, Fisher was named the A-R-C Cross Country Most Valuable Runner after picking up an individual title at the championship. She holds records at Wartburg in the distance medley relay, mile, and steeplechase. She is a three-time Hertel Award recipient at Wartburg as well as a four-time track & field MVP. Academically, Fisher is a four-time A-R-C Academic All-Conference honoree, a four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic student-athlete, and College Sports Communicator (CSC) All-District honoree. In 2023, Fisher was named CSC First-Team Academic All-America after earning second-team distinctions in 2021 and 2022. Fisher recently received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Outside of the classroom and running, Fisher volunteered to help work at Wartburg College high school track meets and was a supervisor at Scooters Coffee. She volunteered to work at the "Tri by Knight," a triathlon event hosted by Wartburg. She was actively involved with the Knights Unified Sports Day, a proud Division III partnership with the Special Olympics. Additionally, she helped make tie blankets each year that were donated to places in need in partnership with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Unlock a world of knowledge! Sign up for free DecorahNews.com newsletters and receive local news, local events and everything that is happening in and around Decorah.