UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - Saginaw Valley State University senior track & field and cross country two-time All-American Lauren Hill (Flat Rock, Mich. / Flat Rock HS) has received the SVSU institutional nomination for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. This award honors a senior female student-athlete who has distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.

Hill holds two Saginaw Valley track and field school records, including the indoor 5000 meter run as well as the 3000 meter steeplechase competition.  As the senior team captain on the cross country team, Hill helped SVSU to a second place finish overall at the NCAA Midwest Regional as well as a trip to the NCAA Championships for the second straight season, where the squad finished 12th. Earning All-Region accolades as well as cross country All-American honors, she placed 19th overall at the 2012 NCAA Division II Championships.

More recently at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships, Hill claimed her first All-American designation in track and field as she anchored her distance medley relay team to a sixth place finish.

In mid-January, Lauren was one of six female student-athletes in the conference to receive the Fall 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Meijer Commissioner's Award given to those who excel both in the classroom and on the fields of play.

"Deciding to run at SVSU was hands down one of the best and most rewarding decisions I have ever made," said Hill. "While it hasn't been easy, battling injury after injury and in the early years just fighting for a spot on the travel roster, being a part of the track and cross program at SVSU has been a life changing experience."

The two-time All-American has been a leader on campus being involved with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as the Chair of the Community Service Subcommittee. She is currently the Fitness Coordinator on campus as she schedules fitness classes and helps coordinate recreational events, including 'Run the Weight Loss Challenge' and 'Fit Into College' programs. Hill has also taught fitness classes in the Ryder Center for the past two years.

"I am so thankful someone saw a glimmer of potential in me as a young high school runner, and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime," stated Hill.

Lauren compiled an overall grade point average of 3.77 and graduated with her undergraduate degree in Exercise Science in early May.

Hill will finish out her career in athletics when she competes at the NCAA Division II National Championships May 23-25 in Pueblo, Colorado.