LANCASTER, Pa. – Sydney Dzenutis has been announced as Franklin & Marshall's nomination for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. Competing on both the women's cross country and track and field teams, Dzenutis made a positive impact in the field of competition, in the classroom, and in the community.
The NCAA Woman of the Year program was established in 1991 and honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions. To be eligible, a nominee must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and must have earned her undergraduate degree by the Summer of 2023.
Dzenutis played a key role in the success of both the cross country and track and field teams. During her indoor track and field career, Dzenutis earned USTFCCCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors in the DMR in 2022 and the 800 meter in 2023. She was also named First Team All-Centennial Conference (CC) in the 4x800 relay during the 2020 season and Second Team All-CC in the 800 meter during the 2023 campaign.
For her outdoor track and field career, Dzenutis was a USTFCCCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region selection (2023) and a two-time Second Team All-conference honoree (4x800 relay; 2022, 800m; 2023).
On the course, Dzenutis placed eighth in the individual standings during F&M cross country's home meet last season, clocking a time of 20:13. She then finished with a time of 20:35.6 at the Little Three Meet the following week to finish in 13th.
A Business, Organizations & Society major with a minor in Applied Mathematics, Dzenutis was named to the CC Academic Honor Roll three times in both cross country (2020, 21, 22) and track and field (2021, 22, 23). She was also named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team for cross country in 2022 and track and field in 2023. In addition, Dzenutis was named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team in 2022.
Dzenutis was also a leader in the community for the Bench Mark Program, where she volunteered as a mentor to youth identified as "at-risk" by local high schools and community organizations. As a mentor, Dzenutis helped push kids to their maximum potential through weightlifting. Furthermore, Dzenutis also served as a campus tour guide for the College. In that role, she interacted with prospective students and gave her perspective of life at F&M.
Since earning her degree from Franklin & Marshall this spring, Dzenutis has now begun a career in the sports industry as a marketing professional.
Eligible female student-athletes are nominated by their member school. Each conference office then reviews the nominations from its core member schools and submits its conference nominee to the NCAA. Then, the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee identifies the Top 30 – 10 from each division –and from there selects three finalists from each division. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then selects the NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named later this fall.