NU's Dutton Named NCAA Woman of the Year for Nebraska

Lincoln -- Husker senior Janet Dutton, a multi-event athlete on the track and field team, has been selected as the 2000 NCAA Woman of the Year for the state of Nebraska. The award honors outstanding female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership.

Dutton, who set the collegiate pentathlon record in 1996, graduated in August with a 4.0 grade-point average in business administration. After earning All-America honors in 1996 and winning the Big Eight indoor pentathlon title in 1996 and 1997, Dutton left Lincoln for a two-year church mission in Spain. The Hershey, Neb., native then returned to NU to help the Huskers win Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Conference titles earlier this year.

A member of the National Dean's List from 1995-1997 and again in 2000, Dutton was named the Nebraska Female Student-Athlete of the Year for 2000. She also earned GTE Academic All-America honors for the 1996-97 season

The state-level winners include 14 student-athletes from Division I, nine student-athletes from Division II and 28 student-athletes from Division III. The group of 51 state winners will be narrowed to 10 finalists in early September, and a national winner will then be selected by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics.

The national winner will be announced at the 2000 NCAA Woman of the Year dinner on Oct. 15, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis. Last year's national winner was Jamila Demby, a track and field standout at California-Davis.