RELEASED: Thursday, October 2, 2008

Schettle Among Final Nine Candidates For NCAA Woman Of The Year Award

MADISON, Wis.--Former University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh student-athlete Sarah Schettle has been recognized as one of three Division III candidates for the 2008 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

The honor recognizes outstanding female senior student-athletes for their cumulative collegiate achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics.  Nominations for this year’s award were submitted by each NCAA institution and reviewed by the respective conference office.  Upon receiving nominations from its member institutions, each conference was responsible for assessing each nominee’s eligibility and subsequently selecting a conference nominee.

Schettle was chosen as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (WIAC) nominee for this year's award.  The Oshkosh native joined 130 conference and independent nominees who were forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee.

The selection committee then narrowed the list of nominees to 30, with 10 of them representing each of the three NCAA divisions (I, II, III). From the group of 30, nine national finalists were selected.

Schettle will be recognized as a national finalist at the NCAA Awards Dinner on Oct. 19 in Indianapolis, Ind.  The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will then announce the 2008 Woman of the Year.  An hour-long broadcast of the event will air on ESPN2 at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 5.

Schettle lettered as a member of the UW-Oshkosh track and field from 2004-07. She earned All-America honors in the 1,600-meter relay at the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division III indoor championships.  Schettle helped the Titans to NCAA Division III indoor titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and NCAA Division III outdoor championships in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Schettle also was a four-time letter winner for the Titans in swimming and diving. She collected 12 WIAC medals for finishing in the top eight as an individual or as a relay team member at the league's championship meet.  Schettle was named her team's Most Improved Performer in 2004 and her squad's Most Valuable Performer in 2006.

Last fall, Schettle earned a letter as a member of the UW-Oshkosh cross country team.
Schettle won the WIAC's Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award in indoor track and field in 2007 and swimming and diving in 2008.  She was named to the 2008 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America At-Large Second Team and announced by UW-Oshkosh as one of its nine 2008 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence winners.

In 2006, the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct named Schettle as one of its two National Sportsmanship Award winners.

Schettle received various academic scholarships while attending UW-Oshkosh, including the Ronald Reagan College Leaders Scholarship, the Kimberly Clark Bright Future Scholarship, the UW-Oshkosh Foundation Scholarship and the John E. Kerrigan Scholarship.

She also was involved in many campus activities and organizations, including No Limits Support Association, Student Alumni Ambassadors (President), University Honors Program, Athletes in Action, Biology Club (President) and the Optimist Club.  She also co-founded eMentors, an online program connecting students with alumni.

Schettle has volunteered with the Winnebago County Republican Party and was a leader of College Republicans at UW-Oshkosh.  In the community, she volunteered in blood drives and for Special Olympics.

Schettle graduated from UW-Oshkosh last spring.  She majored in both chemistry and Spanish and boasted a 3.90 cumulative grade point average.  Schettle is currently attending graduate classes at UW-La Crosse.

In addition to Schettle, other national finalists are Susan Ackermann (lacrosse) of Division III Salisbury University (Md.), Nkolika Anosike (basketball) of Division I University of Tennessee, Jennifer Artichuk (swimming & diving) of Division II Delta State University (Miss.), Shanti Freitas (swimming & diving) of Division III Smith College (Mass.), Arianna Lambie (cross country and track & field) of Division I Stanford University (Calif.), Samantha Mitchell (volleyball and track & field) of Division II Mount Olive College (N.C.), Lindsey Ozimek (soccer) of Division I University of North Carolina-Charlotte and Heather Walker (volleyball and softball) of Division II Georgian Court University (N.J.).

Schettle is the first UW-Oshkosh student-athlete to be named as a national finalist in the 18-year history of the award.

Whitney Myers, a former swimming standout at the University of Arizona, was last year's NCAA Woman of the Year.