Tommie Sports - Women's Track and Field
Katie Theisen makes semifinals for NCAA award
August 25, 2009
St. Thomas distance ace Katie Theisen has been named one of 10 national semifinalists in Division III for the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
The NCAA award honors female student-athletes who have excelled in academic achievement, athletics, service and leadership. A committee of representatives from NCAA schools and conferences pared a pool of 132 conference and independent nominees to a group of 30 semifinalists -- 10 per division.
Next month, the top 30 will be trimmed to nine finalists –- three from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will announce the recipient of the 19th annual award at a banquet Oct. 18 in Indianapolis.
It's the second year in a row St. Thomas has had a national semifinalist for this elite award. In 2008, three-time softball All-American Maria Bye of St. Thomas was the MIAC representative and made the cut to 30.
Only one other NCAA institution -- D-II's Texas Women's University -- has had back-to-back top-30 semifinalists for this award.
A native of Elko, Minn., and a 2005 graduate of New Prague High School, Theisen graduated with a 4.00 gpa in Biology. An NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, a Goldwater Scholar and a two-time first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, Theisen also has a deep campus- and community-service resume. She was named College Sporting News' Senior Female Student-Athlete of the Year from the MIAC -- a honor also bestowed on her older brother, 2008 UST graduate P.J. Theisen.
Theisen was a six-time All-American, including an NCAA runner-up placing in the steeplechase last May in a conference record time of 10:27. She anchored UST's distance medley relay to runner-up NCAA indoor finishes in 2008 and 2009. She also anchored that quartet to first place at the 2009 Drake Relays -- the conference's first relays win at Drake in 77 years. In her four NCAA cross country championship races, she improved each year from 71st to 36th to 20th to 13th place.
Theisen, who is headed to medical school at the University of Minnesota, helped the Toms win 11 of a possible 12 MIAC team titles in CC, indoor and outdoor track on her career. She contributed to 263 team points in eight career conference track and field meets, and was a four-time All-MIAC honoree in cross country. She was a nine-time MIAC Athlete of the Week in her three sports.
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