CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) has named former Loras College cross country and track & field student-athlete Kassie Parker (Guttenberg, Iowa) as the conference’s 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee. 
 
Now in its 33rd year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers. Nominees for the honor meet the four pillars of the Woman of the Year Award, which are academics, athletics, service, and leadership. 
 
Parker graduated from Loras in 2023 with a degree in Psychology and Kinesiology with a minor in Coaching. She graduated with a 3.46 undergraduate GPA. Her accomplishments allowed for her to be named the USTFCCCA Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2021-22 academic year. 
 
The Guttenberg, Iowa native was a seven-time national champion, leaving her mark as one of the best distance runners to ever come through Division III. She crossed the finish line first twice in cross country (2021 and 2022), Indoor 3K (2022), Indoor 5K (2022), Outdoor 5K (2023), and Outdoor 10K (2019 and 2023). She guided the Duhawks to three team national championships in outdoor track & field (2019, 2021, 2022) and an indoor title in 2022. She holds the national record in the 10K (32:26.22) and 5K (15:37). In the A-R-C, Parker grabbed six individual titles and earned all-conference on eleven occasions. Loras won the outdoor conference championships in 2022 and 2023 with the guidance of Parker. 
 
From here, the Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose ten nominees from each division to make up the national Top 30 honorees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in October. From there, the selection committee will narrow the pool to three finalists from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the 2023 Woman of the Year from the nine finalists and will be announced in January at the 2024 NCAA Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. 
 
Parker’s Community Service, Campus Activities, and Leadership Positions

• Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• January Term Service Trip

Parker’s Academic Accomplishments

• CSC (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-American (2022)
• CSC (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District (2019, 2021, 2022)
• USTFCCCA All-Academic (2019, 2022)
• USTFCCCA National Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year (2021)
• USTFCCCA National Indoor Track & Field Scholar Athlete of the Year (2022)

Parker’s Athletic Accomplishments

• Two-Time Cross Country National Champion (2021 and 2022)
• Three-Time Outdoor Track & Field National Champion (10K - 2019 & 2023, 5K - 2023)
• Two-Time Indoor Track & Field National Champion (3K - 2022 & 5K - 2022)
• Four-Time Cross Country All-American (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
• Three-Time Indoor Track & Field All-American 
• Three-Time Cross Country Regional Champion (2019, 2021, 2022)
• Two-Time A-R-C Cross Country Champion (2021 and 2022)
• 5K Cross Country Loras Record Holder - 17:02
• 6K Cross Country Loras Record Holder - 20:00
• Mile Indoor Track & Field Loras Record Holder - 4:50.29
• 3K Indoor Track & Field Loras Record Holder - 9:13.10
• 5K Indoor Track & Field Loras Record Holder - 15:58.58
• 5K All-Time NCAA Division III National Record Holder - 15:58.58

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