INDIANAPOLIS – Former track and Field standout Annessa Ihde was named one of the national Top 30 honorees for the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, in a year where 627 outstanding college athletics were nominated.
Ihde is the Royals' second-ever Top 30 honoree, joining the ranks with Annika Halverson. Back in July Ihde was named the Royals nominee before being announced as the MIAC nominee in August.
Established in 1991, the award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes female student-athletes who have completed their undergraduate studies and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.
Selected from a record-breaking 627 nominees submitted by member schools — a group that was then narrowed to 168 nominees at the conference level — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees represent 15 sports, including three student-athletes representing NCAA Emerging Sports for Women. They have a variety of majors, including cell and molecular biology, neuroscience, biochemistry, civil engineering, sociology, nursing, computer science, sport management and more.
The Appleton, Wis. native became a First Team All-American after placing seventh in the 800-meter run at the 2024 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. Ihde is a three-time NCAA Championship qualifier in the 800m between indoor and outdoor and was on the 4x400m relay squad that qualified for the 2024 and 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She is a seven-time All-MIAC honoree in the indoor season being a three-time honoree in the 600m and 800m as well as the 4x400m relay in the 2024 season. For the outdoor season she was a four-time All-Conference honoree including a MIAC title in the 800m at the 2024 championships.
Off the track she is a three-time Academic All-Conference honoree, a two-time MIAC Elite 22 Award winner for the outdoor season, and a three-time honoree for the indoor season. At the 2024 NCAA indoor championships, she was also named recipient of the Elite 90 Award, boasting a 4.00 GPA in International Relations, Spanish, and History.
Ihde's service and leadership opportunities include interning at a local nonprofit Jonathan House that provides housing for asylum seekers in the U.S. On top of that, she was an urban Scholar in 2023 as well as being part of Model United Nations. In 2022 she served as a Legal Services intern at Arrive Ministries, a local nonprofit offering social and legal services to newly arrived immigrants and refugees.
At Bethel she was a freelance writer for the Bethel newspaper as well as a contributor to the Literary Magazine. Ihde was also the president of Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honors society.
The selection committee will determine three honorees from each NCAA division, for a total of nine finalists. From those finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year.
At the NCAA Convention in January, the NCAA Woman of the Year will be named, and the Top 30 will be celebrated.