North Dakota State University track & field All-American Shelby Gunnells has been chosen as The Summit League's representative in the NCAA Woman of the Year selection process, the NCAA announced this week.
 
The NCAA Woman of the Year program was established in 1991 and honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions.
 
Next, the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee will identify the Top 30 – 10 from each division – and from there select three finalists from each division. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.
 
Gunnells earned her Bachelor of Science degree from NDSU with a 4.0 GPA, majoring in geology with a minor in chemistry. She won the NCAA Elite 90 Award for outdoor track & field in 2021, ranking eighth on the NCAA performance list for the outdoor shot put this season and earning second-team All-America honors in the event.
 
In all, Gunnells was a three-time All-American in the shot put and an 18-time Summit League placewinner in the throwing events during her Bison career. She was named the 2019-20 Summit League Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year across all sports.
 
Gunnells was selected into the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Program in 2020, earning a Fulbright grant to carry out research in Norway. Ultimately, she declined the award to return to NDSU for her final season as a Bison thrower. She will continue her education at Texas A&M University where she has been granted admission into the school's PhD program in Chemical Oceanography.

Gunnells has received the Allen C. Ashworth scholarship twice during her career, which is given to the NDSU student majoring in geology with the highest academic standing, and she was also the recipient of the Blue Key Honor Society scholarship.
 
Her service to the Fargo community includes volunteering with Hospice of the Red River Valley and preparing and delivering meals for the Salvation Army. She also participates in "FargoMania", an adaptive fitness competition allowing athletes with disabilities or special needs to showcase their abilities.