Luther graduate Kelsey Kittleson in the running for the 2012 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Former Luther College softball All-America Kelsey Kittleson is one of nine finalists selected for the 2012 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
 
The 2012 NCAA Woman of Year will be announced and the top 30 women will be honored during the 2012 NCAA Woman of the Year awards dinner to be held Sunday, October 14th, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
 
The other eight finalists are Hillary Bach, Arizona State softball, Grace Collins, Barry University softball, Kate Griewisch, Lenoir-Ryhne cross country, Sarah Jane Otey, Coast Guard rowing and swimming, Brooke Pancake, Alabama golf, Alexi Pappas, Darmouth cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, Elizabeth Phillips, Washington-St. Louis cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, Verena Preikschas, California State Stanislaus tennis.
 
Kittleson  graduated from Luther with a 4.0 grade-point average as a biology major.  She was recently honored as an NCAA Postgraduate Scholar, Kittleson was inducted into a pair of national honor societies -- Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Beta Beta (biology). She was a two-time first team CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America® and was twice named Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year for softball (2011 College Division, 2012 Division III). Kittleson was also a three-time NCAA Elite 88/89 Award recipient as the student-athlete at site of the championship finals with the highest cumulative grade-point average. She is the first student-athlete to receive the award three times in the same sport. Kittleson was also named to the Iowa Conference All-Academic Team in each of the three years she was eligible.