Oklahoma State University Athletics

Ariane Ballner
Cowgirl Distance Runner Nominated For NCAA Woman Of Year
July 15, 2021 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
STILLWATER –Ariane Ballner, a distance runner for the Cowgirl cross country and track teams, is Oklahoma State's nominee for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
For over three decades, the NCAA Woman of the Year award has honored academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of outstanding female college athletes. Over 220,000 women are competing across all three NCAA divisions, and the NCAA received 535 nominations for this year's prestigious award.
A first-team All-American for the Cowgirls in 2018, Ballner is a two-time Big 12 Conference champion, winning the outdoors 1,500m in 2018 and helping OSU's 2019 indoor distance medley relay team to a title, and she also helped lead OSU to the 2019 Big 12 Cross Country Championship title. Additionally, she has claimed All-Big 12 honors eight times in her distinguished career.
A native of Elmshorn, Germany, Ballner has excelled in the classroom during her time in Stillwater. A three-time CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team performer, she graduated with a 4.00 grade point average from OSU's Spears School of Business with degrees in management and marketing and a minor in sports management and was named an OSU Senior of Significance for the 2020-21 academic year.
A six-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team performer, Ballner was also recognized with the 2021 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, the conference's highest academic honor.
Ballner is also heavily involved in serving the Stillwater community and volunteering in her native Germany, as well being active on the OSU campus, contributing to such organizations as Our Daily Bread, N7 Youth Movement, Coaches vs. Cancer and the Cowboy Choice Awards, among others.
Conference offices will select their nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year, and the top 10 honorees in each of the three NCAA divisions will be identified for by the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee. Nine finalists will be chosen, and the 2021 winner will be named on Oct. 17 in Indianapolis.
For over three decades, the NCAA Woman of the Year award has honored academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of outstanding female college athletes. Over 220,000 women are competing across all three NCAA divisions, and the NCAA received 535 nominations for this year's prestigious award.
A first-team All-American for the Cowgirls in 2018, Ballner is a two-time Big 12 Conference champion, winning the outdoors 1,500m in 2018 and helping OSU's 2019 indoor distance medley relay team to a title, and she also helped lead OSU to the 2019 Big 12 Cross Country Championship title. Additionally, she has claimed All-Big 12 honors eight times in her distinguished career.
A native of Elmshorn, Germany, Ballner has excelled in the classroom during her time in Stillwater. A three-time CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team performer, she graduated with a 4.00 grade point average from OSU's Spears School of Business with degrees in management and marketing and a minor in sports management and was named an OSU Senior of Significance for the 2020-21 academic year.
A six-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team performer, Ballner was also recognized with the 2021 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, the conference's highest academic honor.
Ballner is also heavily involved in serving the Stillwater community and volunteering in her native Germany, as well being active on the OSU campus, contributing to such organizations as Our Daily Bread, N7 Youth Movement, Coaches vs. Cancer and the Cowboy Choice Awards, among others.
Conference offices will select their nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year, and the top 10 honorees in each of the three NCAA divisions will be identified for by the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee. Nine finalists will be chosen, and the 2021 winner will be named on Oct. 17 in Indianapolis.
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