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Silas named NCAA Woman
of the Year
Tanisha Silas, a former track and field standout at the University of
California, Davis, has been named the 2002 NCAA Woman of the Year. Silas
received the award, one of the most prestigious that the NCAA bestows,
at
the12th annual NCAA Woman of the Year Awards Dinner Saturday evening in
Indianapolis. The award honors academic and athletic excellence, as well
as
community service and leadership.
Silas was chosen from about 350 nominees. A selection committee composed
of
representatives from member schools chose one winner from all 50 states
and
then narrowed the field to 10 national finalists. The NCAA Committee on
Women's Athletics selected Silas from among the 10 finalists, which included
cross country and distance running standouts Katie Ryan from Boston College,
and Ann Marie Brooks from the University of Missouri, as well as 100-meter
hurdler Morgan Buckner of Ferris State University.
A native of Villejo, Calif., Silas was a six-time all-American and a
member
of the 4x400 relay teams for UC Davis' indoor and outdoor track and field
squads. She was part of the outdoor relay teams that won conference titles
from 1999 to 2001, and she was a member of the Aggies' relay teams that
hold
both indoor and outdoor school records.
Currently a medical student at UC Davis, Silas is the second Aggie
student-athlete to be named the NCAA Woman of the Year. Jamila Demby,
another track All-American, received the honor in 1999.
Other 2002 Woman of the Year state winners who competed in track &
field or
cross country include Brianna Glenn (University of Arizona), Aimee Alexander
(University of Delaware), Susan DeNigris (North Central College), Heather
Leverington (Emporia State University), Jill Krebs (McDaniel College),
Kelli
Brummer (University of Nebraska at Kearney), Jenni Ashcroft (University
of
Nevada), Katie Sabino (North Carolina State University), Jill Theeler
(North
Dakota State University), Mechelle Chanai (Lewis (University of South
Carolina), Diane Slinden (University of Tennessee) and Heather Sagan
(Liberty University).
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