NCAA Release 

INDIANAPOLIS – Minnesota State graduate student-athlete Amanda Montplaisir (Buffalo, Minnesota) has been selected as one of this year's Top 30 honorees for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year award. This year, 619 outstanding college athletes were nominated for the prestigious award by their colleges or universities.
 
Montplaisir became the second woman from Minnesota State to be named a Top 30 finalist since the establishment of the award in 1991 and the seventh from the NSIC. She was announced as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference nominee on August 10, 2023. She competed for the Mavericks in cross country and track and field from 2018-22.
 
"I feel fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity to coach Amanda during her time at Minnesota State," commented Minnesota State head women's cross country coach/assistant men's and women's track and field coach Jen Blue. "She arrived at MSU five years ago with high goals for herself to make a difference on the course/track, in the classroom and in the community. I could not be more proud of all of her accomplishments, especially her work with Feed My Starving Children and the Campus Cupboard, organizations focused on reducing food insecurity in the greater Mankato and campus communities."
 
The NCAA Woman of the Year is a national award honoring academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service and leadership. It is one of the highest awards given by the NCAA. The Woman of the Year award is unique in its recognition of student-athletes who are not only successful on the field and in the classroom, but also contribute to their communities and campuses.
 
From the Top 30, three finalists from each NCAA division will be named. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will then select the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year from the nine finalists. For more information about the award program and previous winners, visit ncaa.org/woty.
 
Montplaisir will be celebrated along with the rest of the Top 30 nominees during an awards presentation at the NCAA Convention on January 11 in Phoenix.
 
Amanda Montplaisir 
School: Minnesota State University, Mankato 
Division II 
Conference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference 
Sports: Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field 
Major: Family consumer science, with a concentration in dietetics 
 
Amanda Montplaisir led her team to runner-up finishes at the 2023 NCAA Division II Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships and was a five-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American, including four first-team honors. She earned Northern Sun individual titles in the indoor 3,000 meters and outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase, and her contributions led her team to three indoor and two outdoor conference titles. The 2022 Northern Sun Women's Cross Country Outstanding Senior of the Year was two-year team captain for cross country and track.
 
She holds school records in the outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase, indoor 3,000 meters, and the indoor distance medley relay. In 2022, Montplaisir earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors and was a Northern Sun Myles Brand All-Academic Award recipient.
 
In cross country, Montplaisir finished ninth in the country to garner First Team All-America honors in 2022, helping the Mavericks to a conference runner up team finish and third place finish in at the NCAA Regional meet.
 
She also earned the 2023 Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award, recognizing the top female student-athlete in each sport in the conference. Montplaisir was a three-year campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member and four-year Student Dietetic and Nutrition Organization member, through which she helped initiate a mentorship program for dietetics students. She volunteered for several organizations focused on reducing food insecurity on campus and in the local community, including Feed My Starving Children and Campus Cupboard.
 
Recent Minnesota State nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year include Kaylee Jensen (2021-22, women's track & field), Maggie Knier (2020, swim & dive), Claire Jordan (2018, women's basketball), and Coley Ries (2017, softball).
 
Montplaisir earned her undergraduate degree from MSU in Family Consumer Science with a 3.97 grade point average and is working toward her Master's in Exercise Physiology.