Northwest Nazarene All-American Ashley Puga will be one of 30 national honorees appearing on ESPN2 this afternoon as the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year awards banquet and celebration will be aired on the national network from 3 to 3:30 p.m. Mountain Time.

The program, which was taped at the October 18th banquet, will feature 2009 Woman of the Year Lacey Nymeyer, a swimming and diving student-athlete from the University of Arizona, as well as the 30 national honorees and the nine finalists.

In addition to being one of the nine finalists, Ashley was selected as the 2009 GNAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and NCAA Division II West Region Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Conference Commissioners Association (CCA), and is a nine-time NCAA Division II Track and Field All-American and a two-time national champion.

She won NCAA Indoor and Outdoor national titles in the 800 meters last season, setting a GNAC outdoor record with a season best time of 2:05.23. That time is the sixth fastest in NCAA Division II history.

Puga, who placed eighth in the 1500 meters in addition to winning the 800 at the outdoor national meet, was also selected the GNAC and the USTFCCCA Outdoor National Track Athlete of the Year. She set school records in the 400, 800 and 1500 and now holds nine individual or relay NNU track records.

In indoor track and field, she won conference titles in the 800 and mile and led her team to a win in the 4x400 relay in earning GNAC Outstanding Performer honors at the conference meet. In cross country, she placed sixth in the conference meet and 16th in the NCAA West Region meet.

In the classroom, she posted a 3.95 grade point average graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration and finance in May. A member of the Dean's List for all eight semesters of her collegiate career, she was a three-time GNAC Cross Country and Track & Field all-academic selection. She was also a three-time selection to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team.

The honorees include:

Division I:
Ladia Albertson-Junkans, Minnesota, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
Amanda Blumenherst, Duke, golf
Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, LSU, gymnastics
Loren Groves, Kansas State, indoor and outdoor track and field
Laura Hermanson, North Dakota State, soccer, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
Jennifer Kleinhans, Connecticut, field hockey
Lacey Nymeyer, Arizona, swimming
Yolanda Odenyo, Oklahoma State, soccer
Julie Rubenstein, Pepperdine, volleyball
Eleanor Waite, Rice, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field

Division II:
Anna Atkinson, Wingate, basketball
Jasimen Bailey, Cal State Stanislaus, indoor and outdoor track and field
Arnie Boles, Texas Woman’s, gymnastics
Emily Brister, West Texas A&M, basketball
Kailey Egbert, Saint Rose, soccer
Meghan Haas, Cal State San Bernadino, volleyball
Venessa Lee, Pittsburg State, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
Ashley Puga, Northwest Nazarene, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
Kathleen Tafler, Grand Valley State, soccer
Kelsey Yeatts, St. Edward’s, soccer

Division III:
Julia Hopson, Fredonia State, indoor and outdoor track and field
Dani Huffman, Emory, volleyball
Tanesha Hughes, Monmouth (Illinois), basketball, volleyball, indoor and outdoor track and field
Emily Love, Vassar, swimming
Tracy Menzel, Kenyon, swimming
Caitlin Mullarkey, Swarthmore, basketball, soccer, indoor and outdoor track and field
Kelsey Steffens, Wartburg, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball
Katherine Theisen, St. Thomas (Minnesota), cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
Elise Tropiano, Amherst, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
Rebecca Willis, Redlands, soccer