FAIRFAX, Va. – On the heels of wrapping up one of the most decorated careers in program history, George Mason track and field standout Michelle Wallerstedt has added another prestigious honor to her repertoire.

Wallerstedt has been nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the NCAA announced on Tuesday. Wallerstedt, a 2017 All-American in the discus who graduated in May, was nominated by Mason athletic department officials. The field, which includes 544 nominees across all three NCAA divisions, will be narrowed over the summer and the winner will be announced in the fall.

One of the most prestigious NCAA awards, the NCAA established the Woman of the Year Award in 1991 to celebrate the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics. Now in its 27th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

"I can't think of a better representative," Mason track and field coach Andrew Gerard said. "She is the total package. Academically, she is tremendously successful and motivated. Athletically, she has achieved at the highest levels in our sport. From a leadership standpoint, she is representative of the whole athletic department. You couldn't ask for a better role model. She is a tremendous candidate."

Wallerstedt, a native of Omaha, Neb., was one of 13 student-athlete nominees from Atlantic 10 Conference. These impressive student-athletes represent nine sports and 11 different A-10 institutions.

The 2017 Atlantic 10 institutional nominees are recognized for being standout citizens with robust academic success, complimented by competitive athletic resumes, while sustaining dynamic leadership in their communities. The 13 candidates have noteworthy credentials, including All-American and Academic All-America honors, conference championships and All-Conference award winners, NCAA Championship success, and campus involvement, including serving as student-athlete leaders.

The league's Senior Woman Administrators will vote on 12 of the nominees to select two who will represent the Atlantic 10 Conference in the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year finalists. One nominee, gymnast Chelsea Raineri of George Washington, competes in a sport which is not sponsored by the Atlantic 10, and will be considered from among a national pool of candidates.

After the Atlantic 10 and all other leagues have selected up to two conference nominees, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees — 10 from each division. From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine. The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.

Wallerstedt wrapped up her five-year career at Mason two weeks ago when she finished 15th in the discus at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. By doing so, she earned Second Team All-American accolades from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

It capped off a tremendous outdoor season for Wallerstedt, who broke the school record in the discus several times (now set at 55.16 meters) and won Atlantic 10 and ECAC championships in the event.

She not only holds the school and conference records in the discus but she also ranks in the top 10 in the Mason record books in the hammer throw, weight throw and indoor shot put. Her resume also includes two Atlantic 10 championships and three medals, two ECAC Championships medals (one gold), 13 collegiate victories and 30 finishes in the top five.

Outside of track, Wallerstedt has also pieced together an impressive collegiate career in the classroom and in the campus community. In May, she received the Susan A. Collins Leadership Award for Women in Sport given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the leadership qualities set by Collins, who dedicated more than 34 years at George Mason before retiring last year.

She also has been on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll six times, served as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in addition to the Athletic Council and working as a student liaison for the student government. Earlier this summer, she received one of the Atlantic 10's Postgraduate Scholarships.

Last month, she graduated with her bachelor's degree in integrative studies with a concentration in pre-physical therapy. For her Capstone Project, she was chosen to join her faculty advisor's research team. Wallerstedt was the only undergraduate on a team of graduate and doctoral students, faculty and staff. The research focused on first generation college students' success, evaluating their sense of belonging, development of meaningful personal relationships, resiliency and other markers associated with student success.

This August, she'll head down to Clemson, S.C., where she'll begin graduate school in January while also starting her pursuit of a professional throwing career. She'll work with Clemson throws coach Robert Weir, a three-time Olympian who also coached Wallerstedt's sister, Michaela, at Stanford when Gerard was an assistant there. She is aiming to participate in the 2021 World Championships for Team USA.