Central College Women’s golfer and triathlete Thea Lunning is the school’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, a Mason City native, graduated 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 was recently named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Women’s At-Large Team as a third-team selection. After transferring to Central 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. 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 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.

Eight previous Central nominees have advanced to represent the state or the conference at the national level, including the 2019 pick, Dutch softball pitcher Mariah Fritz.