MADISON — The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) has announced its nominees for the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year and Division III Commissioner’s Association (DIIICA) Student-Athletes of the Year awards.
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Sophie Rausch has been selected as the WIAC’s nominee for both the NCAA Woman of the Year and DIIICA Women’s Sport Student-Athlete of the Year awards, while UW-Eau Claire’s Mitchell Stegeman and UW-Stout’s Gervase Thompson have been chosen as the conference nominees for the DIIICA Men’s Sport Student-Athlete of the Year.
Now in its 34th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions. By submitting nominations, institutions and conferences have the opportunity to recognize female student-athletes who best exemplify a commitment to these four areas.
To be eligible, a nominee must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport; must have completed eligibility in her primary sport; must have earned her undergraduate degree no later than the summer 2024 term; and must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.50 on a 4.00 scale.
The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in the fall. The selection committee will then determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30 to comprise the group of nine finalists, later in the fall. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will choose the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year. The honorees will be celebrated at the Woman of the Year Award Presentation at the NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tenn., in January.
Rausch, a native of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, was a member of the women’s ice hockey team. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors after achieving a 3.90 grade point average, while majoring in exercise science. She was named the recipient of the 2024 WIAC Women’s Ice Hockey Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award and secured a spot on the College Sports Communicators Women’s At-Large Academic All-District First Team in 2021-22 and 2023-24. Rausch earned a spot on the Dean’s List numerous semesters and received American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Krampade First Team All-America Scholar honors in 2023.
A three-time finalist for the Laura Hurd Award, given to the top player in NCAA Division III women’s ice hockey, Rausch finished as UW-Eau Claire’s leader in career goals, career points, single-season goals and single-season points. She is a three-time CCM/AHCA All-American, claiming first team honors in 2023 and 2024, after earning first team status in 2022. Rausch also received first team honors from U.S. College Hockey Online in 2023 and 2024. She is a two-time All-WIAC first team selection and was selected the conference’s co-Player of the Year in 2023.
Outside of the rink, Rausch has volunteered with the Boys & Girls Club and youth hockey teams. She has helped with Eau Claire Clothing Drive and the Chippewa Valley Down Syndrome Awareness Walk.
Stegeman, a native of Coleman, Wisconsin, was a member of the indoor and outdoor track & field teams. He double-majored in finance and management and sustained a 3.83 grade point average. Stegeman secured Men’s Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-America Third Team recognition from the College Sports Communicators honors in 2023. He is a four-time honoree on the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) All-Academic Team. A six-time member of UW-Eau Claire’s Dean’s List, he has received the Blugold Honors Scholarship in 2019, 2020 and 2021. In addition, Stegeman claimed the John and Jill Magliocco Blugold Promise Scholarship in 2019 and 2020.
He is a two-time NCAA Division III champion, winning the outdoor decathlon in 2023, and the indoor heptathlon in 2024. Stegeman is a seven-time USTFCCA All-American, securing four outdoor medals and three indoor. He is a two-time USTFCCA All-Region honoree in indoor competition and five-time outdoor selection. Stegeman ranks in the top five on UW-Eau Claire’s all-time leaderboard for scores in both the decathlon and heptathlon — only behind a select few elite competitors who have gone on to compete at the high-major Division I level and professionally.
Stegeman is a member of Athletes in Action and served as a team captain for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
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