LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall’s Meredith Mangum and Johns Hopkins’ Victoria Kadiri have been chosen as the Centennial Conference nominees for the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
 
The Centennial nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year are selected annually by the conference Senior Woman Administrators.
 
Mangum and Kadiri were picked from a pool of eight candidates submitted by CC member institutions earlier this summer. Now in its 34th year, the Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female college athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service, and leadership. Every year, the NCAA encourages each member institution to honor its top one or two graduating female student-athletes by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.
 
To be eligible, 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. 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 at the NCAA Convention. Click here for more information on the award and a list of previous winners.
 
A libero and two-year captain for the F&M volleyball team, Mangum concluded her career as a standout performer on the court, in the classroom, and in the community for the Diplomats. In May, Mangum was named the Centennial Conference overall female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, an honor bestowed to just one female student-athlete among all CC sports. Mangum took home Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in both her junior and senior seasons, culminating in the overall Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolade this past spring.
 
The Peachtree Corners, Ga. native was a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree, a two-time All-Centennial selection, and the 2022 CC Defensive Player of the Year. Mangum is also one of just 19 student-athletes in conference history across all sports to be named both player and scholar-athlete of the year in the same season. She wrapped up her career for the Diplomats with 1,068 digs (3.87 per set), 213 assists and 79 service aces during three seasons on the court.
 
As a joint major in business, organizations, and society and American studies with a minor in Spanish, Mangum posted a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average through her final semester this past spring. Mangum was also well-immersed in many aspects of life on campus and in the community. She served as a teaching assistant for F&M’s Introduction to American Studies course, worked as a tutor for Quantitative Methods in the Business department, and also was part of the Junto Society, Alumni Leaders of Tomorrow, Alpha Delta Pi and the table tennis club on campus. In the Lancaster community, she volunteered with the Latin American Alliance, interviewing and writing profiles of community leaders in Spanish to learn from and share their stories. She also volunteered for F&M’s Takeover the Gym Series, which introduced women and gender minorities to gym equipment and exercises.
 
Arguably the most accomplished student-athlete in Centennial history, Kadiri won nine individual NCAA championships in indoor and outdoor track & field and was named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Field Athlete of the Year three times. Five of her nine national titles came in the triple jump to go along with four in the long jump. Kadiri owns nine of the 15 total women’s track & field individual national championships in the Centennial’s 32-year history.
 
The national record-holder in the triple jump in both indoor and outdoor track, Kadiri was a 16-time All-American and a 22-time Centennial champion. Her name is scattered all over the Centennial record book, as she holds six overall and six championship meet records between both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Kadiri was also a finalist for the NCAA Division III Honda Award in 2023 and was named Johns Hopkins' Catherine P. Cramer Award recipient as the Department of Athletics' top senior female athlete in May.
 
Kadiri’s excelled in the classroom as well, graduating with a 3.61 cumulative grade point average as a general engineering and Africana studies major this past spring. She was a two-time first team Academic All-America selection by the College Sports Communicators (CSC / formerly CoSIDA), one of the highest honors a collegiate athlete can receive for combined athletic and academic prowess in addition to community service.
 
On top of her achievements on the track and in the classroom, Kadiri was also active with the Johns Hopkins Tutorial Program at the Henderson Hopkins School, where she tutored fifth and seventh-grade students in math, and also spent six weeks working with the NSBE Summer Engineering Experience for Kids.  There, she served as a mentor and designed engaging content for more than 60 children about the Engineering Design Process and STEM projects.
 
A record-breaking 627 female student-athletes were nominated by NCAA member schools for consideration for the 2024 Woman of the Year award.