Track and Field

BYU’s Hunter, OSU’s Auerbach Named 2025 Big 12 NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 Honorees

BYU’s Meghan Hunter (track and field) and Oklahoma State’s Sivan Auerbach (cross country/track and field) were announced as Top 30 Honorees for the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. This is the 10th time in the last 11 years the Big 12 has had at least one student-athlete in the Top 30. 

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. 

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. 

"These honorees represent the very best of what it means to be a student-athlete, and the character-building potential that is inherent in all athletic pursuits. They have distinguished themselves among the many thousands of collegiate athletes who find and surpass their limits every day on the journey to becoming their best selves, not just in sport, but in life," said Marion Terenzio, chair of the Woman of the Year Selection Committee and president of SUNY Cobleskill. "I congratulate all of the remarkable women named to the Top 30 and applaud their demonstrated ability to create positive change in themselves and in the world around them."

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. 

Below is a summary of their accomplishments.

Meghan Hunter

School: BYU
Division I
Conference: Big 12 Conference
Sports: Cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
Major: Communication disorders, also earned master's in communication disorders

Athletics

  • Earned multiple first-team U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America honors in the 800-meter run and won the 2025 Big 12 outdoor 800-meter title with a meet record.
  • Holds school indoor and outdoor 800-meter records and set NCAA and school records with her distance-medley relay team.

Leadership

  • Served as president of her church congregation's women's organization, coordinating activities and lessons.
  • Mentored youth and student-athlete groups through motivational speaking.

Academics

  • Earned multiple USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, a pair of Academic All-Big 12 honors and two Big 12 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Awards and was named a finalist for the 2024 Honda Inspiration Award.
  • Worked as a research assistant on communication disorders and as a speech pathology intern.

Community Service

  • Coached Provo High School track and field athletes.  
  • Assisted with equine speech therapy for children at Camp Hippo Pediatric Therapy and supported elementary school hearing screenings.

Sivan Auerbach

School: Oklahoma State
Division I
Conference: Big 12 Conference
Sports: Cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field
Majors: Computer engineering, computer science 

Athletics

  • Had first-team U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America finishes in the distance medley relay in 2021 and 2024 and won the 2021 and 2024 Big 12 indoor titles in the 1,000-meter run. 
  • Competed in the 1,500-meter run at the 2024 European Athletics Championships and set multiple Israeli national records. 

Leadership

  • Led efforts to reinstate the Hillel Jewish Student Organization, coordinating events and organizing meetings with university leaders to advocate for Jewish students' safety and concerns.
  • Advocated for increased visibility for women's sports in Israel, mentored Israeli athletes pursuing NCAA opportunities and raised awareness of body image issues in women's athletics.

Academics

  • Received multiple College Sports Communicators Academic All-America recognitions, as well as multiple USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.
  • Became the first woman in Division I cross country to twice win the NCAA Elite 90 award, which recognizes the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each championship finals site.

Community Service

  • Volunteered in local elementary schools and at the Stillwater Humane Society.
  • Serve as a volunteer at youth track clubs and clinics in Israel.