University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia’s Keturah Orji Named NCAA WOY Finalist
September 06, 2018 | Track & Field
ATHENS, Ga. --- Former Georgia track and field standout Keturah Orji has been chosen as one of the 30 finalists for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, according to an announcement Thursday by the award's selection committee.
Orji, a native of Mount Olive, N.J., is one of 12 all-time finalists for the Bulldogs, including the first from track and field. Georgia swimmers Lisa Coole (1997), Kristy Kowal (2000) and Kim Black (2001) each claimed NCAA Woman of the Year honors. Georgia was the first school to have more than one winner and has a finalist for the second consecutive year (swimming's Chantal Van Landeghem).
Selected from a record 581 school nominees — a group that was then narrowed to 154 nominees by conference offices — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Orji is the only finalist from the Southeastern Conference.
All have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees competed in 13 sports and studied a broad range of academic majors, including finance, biochemistry, microbiology, kinesiology, nursing and communication.
"These 30 women have demonstrated outstanding commitment to excelling in the classroom and in their sports while also serving their peers and communities," said Sherika Montgomery, chair of the Woman of the Year selection committee and associate commissioner for governance and compliance at The Summit League. "They represent the best and brightest of women competing in college and sports, and we're thrilled to celebrate them and their achievements."
The selection committee will announce the nine finalists, including three women from each NCAA division, in early October. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year. The Top 30 will be celebrated and the Woman of the Year will be named Oct. 28 at a ceremony in Indianapolis.
Orji completed her UGA career following the 2018 outdoor season as an eight-time NCAA champion and a 15-time scoring All-American while also setting collegiate and American records in the triple jump both indoors and outdoors. She recorded the top eight indoor triple jump efforts in NCAA history and owns the top six outdoor triple jump marks in collegiate history.
This summer, Orji became the first female in history to be one of three finalists for three years in a row for The Bowerman, which is collegiate track and field's highest honor given to a male and a female in the sport each year. Soon after her final NCAA Outdoor Championships in June, Orji won her third consecutive triple jump title at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships during her professional debut.
This performance came several weeks after Orji swept the triple and long jumps at the 2018 NCAA outdoor meet in her final competition for the Lady Bulldogs. Thanks in large part to her 20 points, the Georgia women finished as the meet's runner-up by a single point after capturing the program's first team national championship during this year's indoor campaign. Orji won the triple and was second in the long at the 2018 NCAA indoor meet.
Orji was honored as a Google Cloud Academic All-American for the third consecutive year in 2018, marking the ninth honor of this kind for the track and field program. She became the first member of the track and field program to earn this honor three times and the 12thmember in the history of the UGA Athletic Association.
Orji graduated in May 2018 with a degree in Financial Planning sporting a 3.97 grade point average. A three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Women's Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, she was named the Southeastern Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year three times. Orji was recently awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and began her graduate degree in Sport Management at UGA this fall.
Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack).
Orji, a native of Mount Olive, N.J., is one of 12 all-time finalists for the Bulldogs, including the first from track and field. Georgia swimmers Lisa Coole (1997), Kristy Kowal (2000) and Kim Black (2001) each claimed NCAA Woman of the Year honors. Georgia was the first school to have more than one winner and has a finalist for the second consecutive year (swimming's Chantal Van Landeghem).
Selected from a record 581 school nominees — a group that was then narrowed to 154 nominees by conference offices — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Orji is the only finalist from the Southeastern Conference.
All have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees competed in 13 sports and studied a broad range of academic majors, including finance, biochemistry, microbiology, kinesiology, nursing and communication.
"These 30 women have demonstrated outstanding commitment to excelling in the classroom and in their sports while also serving their peers and communities," said Sherika Montgomery, chair of the Woman of the Year selection committee and associate commissioner for governance and compliance at The Summit League. "They represent the best and brightest of women competing in college and sports, and we're thrilled to celebrate them and their achievements."
The selection committee will announce the nine finalists, including three women from each NCAA division, in early October. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year. The Top 30 will be celebrated and the Woman of the Year will be named Oct. 28 at a ceremony in Indianapolis.
Orji completed her UGA career following the 2018 outdoor season as an eight-time NCAA champion and a 15-time scoring All-American while also setting collegiate and American records in the triple jump both indoors and outdoors. She recorded the top eight indoor triple jump efforts in NCAA history and owns the top six outdoor triple jump marks in collegiate history.
This summer, Orji became the first female in history to be one of three finalists for three years in a row for The Bowerman, which is collegiate track and field's highest honor given to a male and a female in the sport each year. Soon after her final NCAA Outdoor Championships in June, Orji won her third consecutive triple jump title at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships during her professional debut.
This performance came several weeks after Orji swept the triple and long jumps at the 2018 NCAA outdoor meet in her final competition for the Lady Bulldogs. Thanks in large part to her 20 points, the Georgia women finished as the meet's runner-up by a single point after capturing the program's first team national championship during this year's indoor campaign. Orji won the triple and was second in the long at the 2018 NCAA indoor meet.
Orji was honored as a Google Cloud Academic All-American for the third consecutive year in 2018, marking the ninth honor of this kind for the track and field program. She became the first member of the track and field program to earn this honor three times and the 12thmember in the history of the UGA Athletic Association.
Orji graduated in May 2018 with a degree in Financial Planning sporting a 3.97 grade point average. A three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Women's Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, she was named the Southeastern Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year three times. Orji was recently awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and began her graduate degree in Sport Management at UGA this fall.
Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack).
Players Mentioned
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