NEWPORT NEWS, Va.— Former George Mason track and field standout Michelle Wallerstedt has been chosen as one of two Atlantic 10 Conference nominees for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
 
Wallerstedt and Duquesne's Amadea Szamosi were announced Tuesday as the league's two candidates for one of the NCAA's most prestigious honors.

Both student-athletes completed their eligibility this past year and graduated from their respective universities in May. They were selected from a pool of 12 outstanding institutional honorees, representing eight A-10 sports and 10 different A-10 institutions.

Szamosi, a women's basketball player, and Wallerstedt, a track and field student-athlete, were chosen as the conference's nominees by the Atlantic 10's 14 Senior Woman Administrators (SWAs) based on their athletic achievements, academic prowess, community involvement and leadership abilities. Both A-10 candidates have exceptional resumes in all four areas.

Wallerstedt is one of 145 conference nominees throughout the NCAA (Divisions I, II and III) and is just one of 28 in Division I. The NCAA will select the top 30 (10 each from Division I, II and III), and then will narrow the list to the top nine (three per division) in late September. The 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be chosen from those nine candidates and will be announced Sunday, Oct. 22, at the awards dinner in Indianapolis. 
 
A U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Second Team All-American, Wallerstedt is a two-time conference individual champion in the discus throw. The Omaha, Neb., native is a three-time NCAA preliminary qualifier and finished 15th in the discus throw at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Wallerstedt was a member of four A-10 championship teams and twice earned USTFCCCA Academic All-American honors.
 
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.
 
In May, she graduated with her bachelor's degree in integrative studies with a concentration in pre-physical therapy. She was named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll six times and received one of the A-10's Postgraduate Scholarships. In addition to having served on the George Mason Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the Athletic Council and the President's Student Advisory Group. She has served as a youth track and field coach for the Cornhusker Flyers in Nebraska and received the Susan Collins Leadership Award for Women in Sport at George Mason. 
 
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 George Mason head coach Andrew Gerard was an assistant for the Cardinal. She is aiming to participate in the 2021 World Championships for Team USA.