UTC'S SHANNON WOMMACK
NAMED SOCON FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
 
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Shannon Wommack, the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga's most decorated track and cross country female athlete, was
named the 2006 Southern Conference Female Athlete of the Year.  The honor
was announced Wednesday in Hilton Head Island, S.C., at the SoCon's Annual
Honors Dinner.
 
A graduate student from Conyers, Ga., Wommack won the 2005 SoCon Cross
Country Runner of the Year Award and both the 2006 SoCon Indoor and Outdoor
Track and Field Most Outstanding Performer Awards.  She is the only female
athlete in the history of the league to claim all three awards in the same
year.  The only other athlete to accomplish the triple crown was UTC's
Steven Kocsis in 2003-04.
 
"Shannon is outstanding is every asset," UTC Interim Athletics Director
Matthew Pope said.  "We are extremely proud of all of her accomplishments,
but this award stands out, as she is being measured amongst some incredibly
talented student-athletes in the Southern Conference."
 
Wommack is the only four-time All-America in school history.  She has earned
two All-America honors in cross country and two in outdoor track.
 
During the 2005-06 season, the distance runner won her third SoCon Cross
Country individual title.  In the fall sport, she placed first at the NCAA
South Regional race and picked up All-America accolades with a 19th-place
finish at the NCAA Championships.
 
During the indoor track season, Wommack claimed SoCon titles in the 800 and
3,000 meters and the mile run, setting SoCon records in the 3,000 and the
mile.
 
En route to her second straight Most Outstanding Outdoor Performer trophy,
Wommack won the 1,500 meters and the 3,000-meter steeplechase in
SoCon-record times.  Her win in the steeplechase was her fourth individual
title in that event, and she recently finished second at the NCAA Mideast
Regional to qualify for the upcoming NCAA Championships.
 
She concludes her career with 14 SoCon Indoor titles and seven SoCon Outdoor
titles.  Overall, she collected 23 All-SoCon accolades.
 
"This is a very well-deserved honor for a well-deserving person," UTC Track
and Cross Country Head Coach Bill Gautier said.  "She has earned everything
which she has accomplished here though hard work and dedication.  That is
why she is at the top of her sport and her chosen academic field."
 
The Athlete of the Year Award is voted on by the SoCon athletics directors
and 11 media representatives.  It is based on 70 percent athletic
achievement, 20 percent academic achievement and 10 percent civic
involvement.
 
Academically, Wommack earned First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors
in 2005 and is up for the award again this year after receiving a CoSIDA
All-Academic First-Team All-District IV selection.
 
Currently enrolled in a doctoral program in Physical Therapy, she is a
four-time Track and Field Coaches Association Academic All-America.  She
graduated from UTC in the spring of 2005 with a degree in Rehabilitation
Science and a cumulative grade point average of 3.697.  She has earned a
spot on UTC's Dean's List and Athletic Director's Honor Roll in every
academic semester.
 
Wommack's community involvement includes volunteering as a race
administrator for several local fundraisers including the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure and the Fellowship of Christian
Athletes fundraising race.  She has organized a clothing drive for a relief
organization which aids Haitian women and is a member of a group which helps
refurbish damaged wheelchairs for those in need of them through Goodwill.
 
She was also the 2005 recipient of the A.C. "Scrappy" Moore Award at UTC,
given to the student-athlete who best personifies the Athletic Department's
motto of Success with Integrity through Academic Achievement and Community
Service.
 
Wommack is the third UTC athlete to win the SoCon Female Athlete of the Year
Award.  Former distance runner Mary Jane Middelkoop received the honor in
1997, and former basketball player Jennifer Wilson won the award in 2003.
 
June 1, 2006
 
Jeff Romero
Assistant Athletics Director/Media Relations
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave.
Chattanooga, TN  37403
(423) 425-5292
www.GoMocs.com
 

* UTCSTAFF home page:  http://raven.utc.edu/archives/utcstaff.html *
* unsubscribe:  mailto:[log in to unmask]  *
*   subscribe:  mailto:[log in to unmask]    *