MADISON, Wisconsin– The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) has announced its nominees for the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year and Division III Commissioner’s Association (DIIICA) Student-Athlete of the Year awards.


Sophie Rausch of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was selected as the WIAC nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year and DIIICA Student-Athlete of the Year awards, while Mitchell Stegeman of UW-Eau Claire and Gervase Thompson of UW-Stout were selected as conference nominees for DIIICA Student-Athlete of the Year.


Now in its 34th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award recognizes the academic achievement, athletic excellence, community involvement and leadership of women graduates in all three divisions. By submitting nominations, institutions and conferences have the opportunity to recognize female student-athletes who best exemplify their commitment in these four areas.


To be eligible, a candidate must have participated in an NCAA-sponsored sport and received a varsity letter; she must have met eligibility requirements in her major sport; she must have earned her bachelor’s degree no later than the summer semester of 2024; and she must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.50 on a 4.00 scale.


The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, comprised of representatives from NCAA members, will select the top 30 honorees—10 from each division—from the conference-level nominees. The top 30 honorees will be announced in the fall. The Selection Committee will then select the top three honorees from each division from the top 30 in the fall, who will then form the group of nine finalists. From these nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Sports will select the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year. The honorees will be honored in January at the Woman of the Year Awards Ceremony at the NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.


Rausch, a native of Fergus Falls, Minnesota (Fergus Falls), was a member of the women’s ice hockey team. She graduated with honors after achieving a 3.90 grade point average while studying exercise science. She was named the 2024 WIAC Women’s Ice Hockey Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award recipient and earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators Women’s At-Large Academic All-District First Team in 2021-22 and 2023-24. Rausch earned a spot on the Dean’s List for several semesters and earned the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Krampade First Team All-America Scholar award in 2023.


Rausch was a three-time finalist for the Laura Hurd Award, given to the top player in NCAA Division III women’s hockey, and was named UW-Eau Claire’s best player in career goals, career points, season goals and season points. She is a three-time CCM/AHCA All-American and was selected to the first team in 2023 and 2024 after being named to the first team in 2022. Rausch was also selected to the first team by US College Hockey Online in 2023 and 2024. She was twice named to the All-WIAC first team and was named the conference’s co-player of the year in 2023.


Outside of the rink, Rausch volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club and on youth hockey teams. She helped with the Eau Claire Clothing Drive and the Chippewa Valley Down Syndrome Awareness Walk.


Rausch was selected from a list of individuals at the conference that included Jordyn McCormack (Austin, Minn./Austin – softball) of UW-La Crosse; Brianna Davis (Oshkosh, Wis./West – softball) of UW-Oshkosh; Maddie McCollins (Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata – hockey) of UW-River Falls; Abbey Filipiak (Elk River, Minn./Elk River – golf) of UW-Stout and Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest – basketball) of UW-Whitewater.


Stegeman, a native of Coleman, Wis. (Suring), was a member of the indoor and outdoor track and field teams. He is a finance and management double major and maintains a 3.83 grade point average. Stegeman was named to the 2023 Men’s Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-America third team by the College Sports Communicators. He was named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) All-Academic Team four times. He was a six-time Dean’s List recipient at UW-Eau Claire and was the recipient of the Blugold Honors Scholarship in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Additionally, Stegeman was the recipient of the John and Jill Magliocco Blugold Promise Scholarship in 2019 and 2020.


He is a two-time NCAA Division III champion, winning the outdoor decathlon in 2023 and the indoor heptathlon in 2024. Stegeman is a seven-time USTFCCA All-American, earning four outdoor and three indoor medals. He is a two-time USTFCCA All-Region honoree in indoor competition and a five-time outdoor nominee. Stegeman ranks in the top five on UW-Eau Claire’s all-time list for best finishes in the decathlon and heptathlon – behind only a select few elite competitors who have made it to the high major Division I level and as a professional.


Stegeman is a member of Athletes in Action and served as team captain for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.


A native of Brule, Wisconsin (Northwestern), Thompson was a member of the football team and maintained a 4.00 grade point average while studying mechanical engineering and applied physics. He was the 2024 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society honoree. In 2023, Thompson was a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy and received the WIAC Football Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award. He was a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selection (2022, 2023). Thompson was on the Dean’s List at UW-Stout nine times and was a Blue Devil Academic Top Scholar in 2021, 2022 and 2023.


Thompson, a team captain, earned All-WIAC Second Team honors in 2023 after tying the team lead with 4.5 quarterback sacks and finishing second with 60 tackles. He earned All-WIAC honorable mention in 2022.


Thompson was a member of the Honors College at UW-Stout and the Multicultural Student Organization.


Stegeman and Thompson were selected from a group that also included Ethan Gregg (La Crosse, Wis./Aquinas – cross country, track and field) of UW-La Crosse, Justin Blazek (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley – football) of UW-Platteville and Will Morgan (Naperville, Ill./Central – soccer) of UW-Whitewater.

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