(contributions from Little East Conference)

GORHAM, Maine – Recent University of Southern Maine graduate and track & field standout Sophia Slovenski '23 (Cape Neddick, Maine) has added another accolade to her ever-growing trophy mantel after being selected as the 2022-2023 Region II Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year by the Division III (DIIICA) Commissioner's Association.  The Little East Conference's (LEC) first-ever recipient of the honor, Slovenski was recently named the LEC Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year, and the University of Southern Maine's NCAA Woman of the Year. 
 
The DIIICA Student-Athlete of the Year Award is presented in recognition of a student-athlete's athletic and academic prowess, leadership, and community service. The student-athlete must have exhausted their collegiate eligibility in their primary sport. Voting was conducted by the commissioners within each of the ten regions. The two national winners will be announced later this month.
 
A champion in competition, the classroom and in community service, Slovenski achieved the pinnacle of success in each endeavor – earning the title of NCAA Division III National Champion, NCAA All-American, and Academic All-American.  A two-time All-American in the javelin, Slovenski won the 2021 NCAA Division III National Championship in the same event, while also earning the title of All-America in the pole vault at the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships.
 
Concluding her tremendous career as a University of Southern Maine track & field student-athlete as one of the most decorated and accomplished women to wear a Husky uniform, Slovenski was recently named a 2023 College Sports Communicators (CSC) First Team Academic All-American, making her the Husky student-athlete to earn first team honors twice in their career (previously earning first team Academic All-American honors in 2020-2021).  She is also the first female student-athlete in University of Southern Maine history to earn multiple Academic All-America nods. Slovenski also earned the 2022 Department of Exercise, Health, and Sport Sciences Outstanding Health Sciences Student Award and was named the 2021-22 USM Most Outstanding Student Leader of the Year.
 
A two-time winner of Huskies' Athletics' Paula D. Hodgdon Leadership Award, Slovenski was an easy choice for nomination for the national NCAA Woman of the Year and LEC Student-Athlete of the Year honors.  A leader for the Huskies' Athletics throughout her career in competition and in the community, Slovenski was a two-time team captain for the perennially successful track & field program, served as president of USM's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and established the University's Strong Girls United chapter -  a non-profit organization that promotes participation and retention in girls' sports.  In her leadership roles, Slovenski spearheaded several activities promoting mental health, including SAAC's  "Mental Health Sundays" and "Husky Fri-Yays," as well as organizing programming and providing mentorship and mindfulness activities to girls in the Gorham area communities through Strong Girls United. 
 
Earning her bachelor's degree in health science with a minor in holistic & integrative health this May, Slovenski graduated with a 3.96 cumulative grade point average.  In addition to advancing to the national ballot for the DIIICA Woman Student-Athlete of the Year award, Slovenski will present the LEC and the University of Southern Maine on the national ballot for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year accolade.  Slovenski's future plans include graduate school with the goal of becoming a naturopathic doctor focusing on women's health.