RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Senior Jackie Hargrove (Vienna, Va.) of the Manhattan College women's track & field team has been nominated by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which recognizes graduating female student-athletes for their achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics. Hargrove and Siena soccer player Tabitha Tice were the conference's two nominees.
Each of the four areas is considered equally in the selection process. Nominated student-athletes are also required to submit a personal statement describing how her community service efforts, as well as her experiences as a scholar, athlete, and leader, both on campus and in the community, have influenced her life and shaped the person she is today.
Hargrove is a U.S. Student Fulbright Scholar Program alternate for a program called "Caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: The Nyumbani Approach," which would allow her to live and conduct research in Kenya for 10 months with the non-profit Nyumbani organization. She previously spent two weeks in Kenya working in slums, volunteering in orphanages, visiting HIV/AIDS clinics and working with Catholic Relief Services through Manhattan's L.O.V.E. (LaSallian Outreach Volunteer Experience) program. Hargrove has also volunteered with the Rwandan Education Assistance Project, which is focused on improving the infrastructure of a rural Rwandan primary/secondary school, and JustPeace, which works on various social justice projects throughout the New York City area.
She is member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Epsilon Sigma Pi, Psi Chi and Manhattan College Pen & Sword Honor Societies. Hargrove was the recipient of a Holocaust Resource Center Fellowship in 2009, for which she interviewed a Holocaust survivor and created educational DVDs for middle school and high school students.
On the track, where she served as a team captain, Hargrove helped Manhattan win six MAAC championships (three indoors, three outdoors). She won three gold medals (400 meters, 4 x 100 meter relay, 4 x 400 meter relay) and a bronze (200 meters) at the 2008 MAAC Outdoor Championships, then finished first in the 400 meters at the 2009 MAAC Indoor Championships. Hargrove was also a member of Manhattan's conference champion 4 x 400 relay squads in 2010 and 2011. As a senior, she was part of the quartet that set a school record in the event.
Academically, Hargrove was a six-time MAAC All-Academic Team selection. She was also twice named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team (2009, 2011). Hargrove graduated Magna Cum Laude from Manhattan with a degree in psychology this May. In addition, she received Manhattan's Broderick Medal for Psychology and Medal for Excellence in the Liberal Arts, as well as the Jasper Award, which goes to the senior student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA, for indoor track & field in 2011.
Each NCAA conference nominates one or two candidates, who are then forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. The selection committee will then determine the top 10 winners in each of the NCAA's three divisions. From those 30 candidates, nine finalists will be chosen (three per division). The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will pick a winner from among the top nine. The 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year, as well as the top 10 honorees from Divisions I, II and III, will be recognized at a dinner in Indianapolis in October.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award has been presented annually since 1991, when Canisius cross country/track & field runner Mary Beth Riley was the first winner.
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