Former NIACC golfer Lunning is finalist for NCAA award

Former NIACC golfer Thea Lunning is Central College's nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
           
Established in 1991, the award recognizes graduating female athletes who have distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their college careers.
           
Lunning, who played at NIACC in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, graduated from Central College with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average and a biology major. She will begin optometry school at the University of Memphis in the fall.
           
She recently was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Women's At-Large Team as a third-team selection.

After transferring to Central from NIACC in 2021, Lunning was a two-time American Rivers All-Conference honoree in women's golf, finishing second in the league tournament at Ames last fall after placing second a year earlier. She helped lead Central to the conference title and a berth in the NCAA Division III Championships at Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida May 9-12, where the Dutch tied for 22nd place. Lunning shared the team's Maurine Timmer Most Valuable Player Award after winning the Newcomer of the Year Award the previous season. She is a two-time American Rivers Academic All-Conference honoree as well as a three-time WGCA All-America Scholar. She is the third golfer ever named as Central's nominee.
           
Lunning also competed on the national stage in triathlon, lettering twice. She was a two-time USA Triathlon College Championships participant, placing 28th in Division III in 2021 and 29th this past fall in the competing for the Dutch at Tempe, Arizona Nov. 12.
           
Nearly 200 Division III student-athletes were nominated by NCAA member schools for last year's Woman of the Year Award. Lunning is among two being considered as this year's American Rivers nominee.

After the league's nomination is submitted, the Woman of the Year selection committee will then pick the top 30 honorees—10 from each division. The top three from each division will be announced in October with the winner announced at the 2024 NCAA Convention in January.

At NIACC, Lunning placed fourth at the 2021 NJCAA Region 11 women's golf tournament and qualified for the NJCAA Divsion I national tournament. At the national tournament, Lunning tied for 56th place with rounds of 91-90-89 - 270 at the Plantation Bay Golf and Country Club course in Ormond Beach, Fla.