USC Track And Field's Anna Cockrell Named NCAA Woman Of The Year Award Semifinalist
Olympian and 2021 NCAA 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles champion Anna Cockrell has ben named a top 10 honoree among Division I athletes for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, it was announced by the Woman of the Year Selection Committee today (Sept. 23). This is the 31st year of the Woman of the Year celebration and the candidates are selected through the four pillars of academics, athletics, service and leadership.
"We are thrilled to recognize the 30 honorees (10 each division) selected this year," said John Kietzmann, chair of the selection committee and associate director of athletics for marketing at Metropolitan State University of Denver. "These women excelled in the classroom and competition, while still prioritizing serving their peers and communities despite the challenges they faced during the pandemic. They represent the thousands of women competing in college sports each year, and we congratulate them for their incredible achievements."
Cockrell, a 12-time All-American, represented USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and reached the finals of the women's 400m hurdles. She finished third in the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials by breaking her own school record with a time of 53.70 to advance to the Tokyo Games. Reaching the Olympic finals capped an amazing season in which Cockrell won the NCAA 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles titles to help lead USC to its second team title in the last three seasons. She also became just the second woman athlete to ever win the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles titles in the same season (Queen Harrison of Virginia Tech, 2010). Cockrell originally set the school 400m hurdles record with a time of 54.68 in the NCAA finals.
The Charlotte, N.C. native also won the Pac-12 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles titles which helped lead USC to its third consecutive conference team championship. Cockrell won her third consecutive Pac-12 400m hurdles title after taking second as a freshman and she finished in the top three all four years in the 100m hurdles at the conference meet.
Cockrell also repeated as both CoSIDA Academic Team Member of the Year for Track & Field and Academic All-America first team. She is the only Trojan to be named Team Member of the Year since the inception of the honor in 1996. The four-year captain was also named the 2021 Pac-12 Woman's Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Cockrell also was named the 2021 Honda Sports Award winner for Track and Field and was a 2021 Pac-12 Tom Hansen Medal winner.
Cockrell earned a Master's in Public Policy, Certificate in Public Policy Advocacy (4.00 GPA), after earning undergraduate degree in Communication with a minor in Political Science (3.98 GPA).
The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced this fall. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year.
On Tuesday, Nov. 9, during a virtual awards ceremony, the Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the NCAA Woman of the Year will be named.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.