GORHAM, Maine - Over the course of 100 years of Huskies' Athletics, there is no shortage of champions, record-setters, elite academic performers, or change-makers for the University community to be proud of.
 
And in recent history perhaps there is no greater embodiment of the aforementioned superlatives than recent University of Southern Maine graduate and former Huskies' track and field star Sophia Slovenski '23.
 
A national champion, an All-American, a record-holder, a community-service leader, scholar, mentor, and Academic All-American, Sophia lived the NCAA Division III experience to its capacity - which is why she is among an outstanding group of women who have earned the rare distinction as a Top 30 finalist for the NCAA's Woman of the Year honor.
 
Established in 1991 and rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year honor recognizes female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics, and in academics throughout their careers.
 
The 2023 Top 30 were selected from a record-breaking 619 nominees submitted by NCAA member schools – a group that was then narrowed to 164 nominees at the conference level.  The top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the NCAA divisions.  Representing 15 different sports, the average grade point average of this remarkable group of women is 3.88, and includes a variety of majors like national security and intelligence, education, health science, nursing, civil engineering, and business management.
 
The first University of Southern Maine student-athlete to advance to the Top 30, Sophia's achievements, while remarkable and exemplary, are even more so when you learn that she did not start out as a Husky, and considered walking away from sport early in her collegiate career.  But those hard moments helped shape Sophia's remarkable contributions to sport and her own success.
 
Transferring to the University of Southern Maine in the second semester of the 2019-2020 academic year, Sophia found herself struggling to connect, but was competing well.  Qualifying for the NCAA Division III National Championship (seeded ninth in the pole vault) and looking to repeat as an All-American in the sport, Sophia's season outwardly seemed a tremendous success. But then the pandemic happened, and Sophia, like many student-athletes, found their championship events canceled.
 
"I loved my time at Bowdoin, and what I was able to achieve there, but I chose USM because it had the academic major I wanted to pursue.  But I got to Gorham in January 2020, was suddenly shy, and then school shut down. I was like "Awesome." 
 
Sophia stuck with her academic pursuits, but when competition was able to resume, despite her success, she was struggling to perform. 
 
"I remember one night I was struggling mentally, right before New Englands, and couldn't wrap my head around competing at the level I expected of myself.  I remember it was like 2:00 am, and I was sitting outside of my dorm and decided to drive home. I slept there and called Coach Whitten and told him I just couldn't do it.  He was very understanding, and told me to take the weekend off, but he probably thought I would never compete again after that phone call."
 
Sophia did make it back, and went on to finish her career as an NCAA Division III National Champion in the javelin, a three-time All-American (earning the honor in the pole vault & javelin), and a two-time first team Academic All-American all while helping her indoor and outdoor track & field squads to a combined six Little East Conference championship trophies.
 
Sophia found her way back to sport and to joy in competition organically.  Recommended as a speaker for a Maine Girls and Women in Sport panel entitled Voices of Women in Sport: Empowering Girls for Life – A Toolbox for Middle School Athletes and Beyond by Huskies' Associate Athletic Director Kim Turner, Sophia did what she is known to do – prepare and plan to deliver an outstanding presentation and help welcome young athletes into the benefits of sport.
 
"During that presentation I was emphasizing to these middle school student-athletes, about how despite the ups and downs of competition, that sport has the ability to develop skills, and character," said Sophia  "And that no matter what, being able to manage the ups and downs are essential, and that each of these young girls should have the courage to 'stick with it' even when its hard and to seek out people who can help them on their journey."
 
After the panel, Sophia's coach, Rob Whitten, congratulated her and then asked, "So are you going to listen to your own advice?"
 
"I had to admit; he had a point," said Sophia.
 
In addition to having an 'a-ha; moment following her panel discussion, Sophia's participation in the Maine Girls and Women in Sport event gave her a chance meeting with Lani Silversides – the founder of Strong Girls United and the vessel Sophia has used to channel her community-service efforts.
 
Starting out as a one-on-one female athlete mentor (FAM) - a program that pairs girls with a mentor who participates in a women's collegiate or professional sport, and have  meet-ups focused on movement, mental skills, and mentorship – Sophia wanted to have a greater impact, and increase the opportunity for girls and mentors at the University of Southern Maine.
 
Establishing the USM Chapter of Strong Girls United, Sophia raised $2000 in funds to get the program started and hit the ground running – creating community-based events, bringing in her student-athlete peers, and coordinating a variety of SGU events on campus for local girls in the greater Gorham community.
 
Sophia's work to make sport an empowering experience extended into her Husky athletic community as president of USM's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  In her leadership role, she established and hosted various initiatives like Fri-Yay's, promoting multi-sport fun, and Mental Health Sundays, fostering mindfulness, and well-being among students.
 
She was looking to give back, and make improvements where she could and share what she had learned.
 
"As much as I was giving to the girls who participated in SGU, I was receiving so much more back," noted Sophia. "Seeing the outside community come to campus and interact with my friends, teammates, and peers, I would think this is awesome! And I knew that I want to continue to empower girls and women."
 
Graduating from the University of Southern Maine last spring with a bachelor's degree in Health Sciences and a minor in Holistic and Integrative Health, Sophia is currently working for Strong Girls United through the AmeriCorps VISTA.  Sophia's aspirations for the future involve becoming a Naturopathic Doctor to advance her understanding of holistic and women's health, and in the very near future she will be running the 2023 NYC TCS Marathon on November 5.  Running as a fundraising event for Strong Girls United, Sophia is working towards a goal of $3000. 
 
Previously named the 2023 Division III Commissioners Association Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year, Sophia, and the rest of the Top 30 field will be honored on January 11 at the NCAA National Convention.
 

NOMINEE NAME	SCHOOL_NAME	CONFERENCE NAME	SPORT(S)
Vanessa Aniteye	Seattle Pacific University	Great Northwest Athletic Conference	Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Peyton Barnes	Fairmont State University	Mountain East Conference	Acrobatics and tumbling
Hannah Beatus	Grand Valley State University	Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Softball
Aliyah A. Boston	University of South Carolina, Columbia	Southeastern Conference	Basketball
Kendis Butler	Penn State Harrisburg	United East Conference	Basketball
Ann Carozza	West Chester University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	Swimming and diving
Camryn DeBose	University of New Haven	Northeast-10 Conference	Basketball
Anjali Devireddy	Johns Hopkins University	Centennial Conference	Tennis
Callie Dickinson	University of Georgia	Southeastern Conference	Swimming and diving
Audrey Ernst	Arizona State University	Pac-12 Conference	Triathlon
Logan Eggleston	University of Texas at Austin	Big 12 Conference	Volleyball
Grace Forbes	Rice University	Conference USA	Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Divonne Franklin	Pennsylvania Western University, California	Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Kristen Hayden	Indiana University, Bloomington	Big Ten Conference	Swimming and diving
Sophie Jaques	The Ohio State University	Western Collegiate Hockey Association	Ice hockey
Amanda Montplaisir	Minnesota State University, Mankato	Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference	Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Elise Morris	Middlebury College	New England Small College Athletic Conference	Soccer
Tess Muneses	Washington and Lee University	Old Dominion Athletic Conference	Field hockey
Birgen Nelson	Gustavus Adolphus College	Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Kristen Palmer	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference	Fencing
Charlotte Richards	University of Missouri-St. Louis	Great Lakes Valley Conference	Volleyball
Karson MacKenzie Saunders	Union College (New York)	Liberty League	Softball
Jill Schmitmeyer	University of Findlay	Great Midwest Athletic Conference	Golf
Delaney Schnell	University of Arizona	Pac-12 Conference	Swimming and diving
Myah Selland	South Dakota State University	The Summit League	Basketball
Ellie Shahbo	Harvard University	The Ivy League	Field hockey
Sophia Glory Slovenski	University of Southern Maine	Little East Conference	Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Annika Urban	Emory University	University Athletic Association	Cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field
Anika Washburn	Case Western Reserve University	University Athletic Association	Soccer
Madi Wulfekotter	University of Central Missouri	Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association	Indoor track and field, outdoor track and field