Olympic gold medalist and former West Virginia University rifle team star shooter Ginny Thrasher was selected as one of the top-30 nominees for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Thrasher, a native of Springfield, Va., and graduate of West Springfield High School, is the only rifle athlete in the group. Additionally, she is the first-ever WVU student-athlete to be selected since 1991, the first year the award was handed out. Thrasher graduated this past May from WVU with a degree in biomedical engineering.
From the original field of 585 school nominees, Thrasher was chosen, along with 150 other student-athletes to continue their candidacy for the award. The top 30 nominees were selected from 13 different NCAA sports, including for rifle shooting for the first time. Thrasher, along with two other nominees, is not sponsored by her school's core conference, in this case the Big 12. The WVU rifle team competes in the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC). The GARC, established in 1998 and with nine current members, is a rifle-only NCAA conference.
Later this month, the selection committee will determine the top three nominees from each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will announce the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year at a ceremony held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on Sunday, October 20.
Photo courtesy of WVU Athletic Communications.
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