23 hours ago
SEC staff
Photo: SEC
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (October 13, 2022) – Samantha Drop, alum-athlete-athlete at the University of Georgia who has competed in cross country/indoor and outdoor athletics, is among the Top 30 honorees for the 2022 Woman of the Year Awards NCAA.
Established in 1991, the NCAA’s Woman of the Year Award recognizes qualified female student-athletes and stands out in their communities, sports, and academics in throughout their college careers.
From the Top 30, the Woman of the Year Selection Committee will announce nine finalists – three from each division of the NCAA. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will review the finalists and name the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.
For the first time in the awards’ history, the top 30 honorees will be honored and Woman of the Year will be honored at the NCAA Convention, which takes place in January 2023 in San Antonio.
Drop graduated with a degree in nutritional science with a minor in animal science and is currently working on a PhD in Veterinary Medicine in Athens. She was nominated as Georgia’s female candidate for the 2022 SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Graduate Scholarship. Drop was named the 2020 SEC Female Cross Country Scholar-Athlete, along with being a member of the All-District CoSIDA Academic Team and a USTFCCCA Academic Individual selection. She won the 2020 Joel Eaves Athlete-Scholar Award for being the highest GPA female UGA student-athlete entering the fall semester of her senior year. Drop advanced to the 2017 NCAA Championship with her twin sister and teammate Jessica and won the all-American title after placing 30th overall. She has won the NCAA Cross Country All-Region title four times, won the 2017 NCAA Regional South title, and finished in the top eight twice at the SEC Cross Country National Championships. As a competitor at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships at 10,000 metres, Drop remains third on the school’s all-time list in the event and has three other times still on the Top 10 all-time list. the era of Lady Bulldogs. During his college career in Georgia, Drop was a Special Olympics Executive Board Member at UGA, and volunteered to coach the Athens-Clark County Special Olympics gymnastics team. She is also a member of the American Student Veterinary Medical Association Auction Committee, Blue Key Association, and Leadership Education and Development (LEAD). Drop served as the group’s representative on the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
