Alaska's Kendall Kramer was named a 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year finalist.
Alaska's Kendall Kramer was named a 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year finalist.

Alaska’s Kendall Kramer named NCAA Woman of the Year finalist

10/29/2025 7:57:30 AM

By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – After completing one of the top athletic careers in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history in the spring of 2025, the University of Alaska’s Kendall Kramer was named a finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
 
Established in 1991, the award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes female student-athletes who have completed their undergraduate studies and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.
 
9129Kramer was an All-American in both sports she competed in for the Nanooks, including cross country within the GNAC as well as skiing. She was the 2024 NCAA Division II national runner-up in cross country and was the 2025 NCAA champion in the 20k freestyle in skiing.
 
Kramer, who was named the 2025 GNAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, helped put the Nanook cross country program on the map as she led the team to 13th place at the NCAA Championships last fall. That was Alaska’s best-ever women’s team finish at the national cross country meet. Kramer won the GNAC Championships cross country gold medal three consecutive years from 2022-24 and finished in the top-five at the NCAA West Region Championships all four years including the regional individual title in 2023. Kramer was a three-time GNAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year and a three-time academic all-conference selection throughout her career. As a senior in 2025 she earned College Sport Communicators Academic All-America status as well.
 
Selected from a record-breaking 631 nominees submitted by member schools — a group that was then narrowed to 167 nominees at the conference level — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees competed in a total of 14 NCAA championship sports and two NCAA Emerging Sports for Women. They have a variety of majors, including chemistry, mathematics, biology, education, engineering, psychology, nursing, computer science, journalism, sport management and more.
 
From these 30 finalists, the Woman of the Year Selection Committee will choose the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be announced this fall and recognized at the NCAA Convention in January.