Nanette Nikolajsen, a former member of the Lenoir-Rhyne women’s cross country, track & field, and triathlon teams, has been named an NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 honoree.
To be eligible for this honor, a nominee must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and must have earned her undergraduate degree by Summer 2024.
“Between Nanette’s academic, athletic, and life accomplishments, she is leading the way for many female student athletes,” said head triathlon coach Harley Mason. “I am so proud of her for her perseverance and drive to succeed. She continues to strive for excellence in everything she does.”
Eligible female student-athletes are nominated by their member school. Each conference office then reviews the nominations from its core member schools (and sponsored sports) and submits its conference nominee(s) to the NCAA. All nominees who compete in a sport that is not sponsored by their school’s primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, will be sent to a separate pool to be considered by a committee. Then, the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee identifies the Top 30 – 10 from each division – and from there selects three finalists from each division. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then selects the NCAA Woman of the Year, who is named during the NCAA Convention.
While at Lenoir-Rhyne, Nikolajsen earned a 3.99 grade point average with a double degree in Entrepreneurship and Business and Management. She was a member of the back-to-back National Championship triathlon team and was a two-time Academic All-American. She earned the SAC Elite 23 in Outdoor Track and Field and was the two-time winner of the Wayne B. Powell Student-Athlete Award of Excellence at LR. She was named to the President’s list four times and was named the Robert N. Simmons Business Award winner in 2023.
She was named a Second Team All-American in Triathlon in 2022 and earned Honorable Mention All-American accolades in 2023. She has also garnered SAC Student-Athlete of the Week honors three times during her career. She also competed internationally for the Danish National Triathlon Team.
Outside of athletics, Nikolajsen was heavily involved in the Lenoir-Rhyne community. She spent four years as an Engaged Scholar where she worked alongside community organizations and leaders to address social issues and create positive change in local neighborhoods. She was also a Fritz Honors College Member and helped develop the newly established Honors college while being a part of the Leadership Council. She volunteered as a Club swimming coach at Catawba Valley and was a Business Management tutor at LR while also interning at Hickory Brands Inc.
Nikolajsen currently is in graduate school at the University of San Francisco, where she competes on their triathlon team.
{Information provided by Lenoir-Rhyne Athletics}
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