Allman, Peng-Peng Lee Named Co-Pac-12 Woman of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO - STANFORD’s Valarie Allman and UCLA’s Christine Peng-Peng Lee were selected co-Pac-12 Woman of the Year, the Conference office announced. The women become the Conference’s candidates for the NCAA Woman of the Year, presented annually to a graduating student-athlete who has distinguished herself throughout her collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, community service and leadership.
Valarie Allman (Longmont, Colo.) is a 2017 U.S. World Championships team member, a six-time All-American and two-time Pac-12 Champion in the discus. Earning her undergraduate degree in product design, she is currently in graduate school at Stanford earning her Master’s in communications with an emphasis in virtual reality. A four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree, she has qualified for the NCAA Championships seven times (including indoor championships) in three different events (hammer, discus, 20 lb weight), placing as high as third in 2016 and 2018 on the discus, and in 2014 was named the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year.
As a member of Team USA from 2014-17, she has medaled at the World University Games twice, serving as team captain in 2017. She has won several awards on campus, including the Marshal Clark Award celebrating excellence in leadership and the Stanford Award of Excellence in 2017, given to graduating seniors who have demonstrated a commitment to the University through involvement, leadership and extraordinary Stanford spirit. Allman has also dedicated time to volunteering and organizing team events, including coordinating the track & field team’s participation at Children’s Day of Champions and Team USA’s visit to a South Korean orphanage while at the World University Games. A member of Stanford’s SAAC, she has been invited to speak at the NCAA National Convention, the Women’s Sports Foundation and at the Pac-12 Conference headquarters.
Christine Peng-Peng Lee (Toronto, Ontario, Canada.) is coming off leading the Bruins to a NCAA Championship, landing two Perfect 10s in her final two routines to knock off two-time defending champion Oklahoma by just a .0375 margin. Majoring in sociology with a double minor in theater and entrepreneurship, Peng-Peng Lee was the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year this season while also helping her team to a Pac-12 crown. She is also a Honda Award winner, All-Pac-12 and a national champion on beam.
Peng-Peng Lee is a two-time Pan-Am Games medalist, six-year Canadian national team member and an Olympic athlete, participating in the London Games. She is a team representative on UCLA’s SAAC, and won UCLA’s Courage and Character Award as a junior. In her four seasons, UCLA has finished in the top five at the national meet every year and she was tabbed the West Region Gymnast of the Year last year. When on campus, Peng-Peng Lee hosts jam sessions during finals week for those who love music and need to destress.
Allman and Peng-Peng Lee are the 13th and 14th student-athletes to be named Pac-12 Woman of the Year. Previous winners were: Anika Apostalon, USC (2017); Rachael Acker, CAL (2016); Margo Geer, ARIZ (2015); Chiney Ogwumike, STAN (2014); Brigetta Barrett, ARIZ (2013); Hilary Bach, ASU (2012); Annie Chandler, ARIZ (2011); Justine Schluntz, ARIZ (2010); Lacey Nymeyer, ARIZ (2009); Arianna Lambie, STAN (2008); Whitney Myers, ARIZ (2007); and Kate Richardson, UCLA (2006).
Four student-athletes from the Pac-12 have won the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award: Schluntz (2010), Nymeyer (2009), Myers (2007), and Tanya Jones in 1994. All four were student-athletes at the University of Arizona.
Eligible female student-athletes are nominated by their schools, then each conference office reviews the nominations from its members and submits a conference nominee to the NCAA. From that pool, the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee selects the Top 30 – 10 from each division. From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three nominees from each division and announces those nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
The top 30 honorees will be recognized, and the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be named, at the annual award ceremony on Oct. 28 in Indianapolis.