INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The University of Mount Union track and field graduate Kenadee Wayt (Wheeling, W.Va. / Wheeling Central Catholic) was selected by the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) as its nominee for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year for her outstanding and unprecedented achievements.
 
Wayt, who graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 grade point average in biology with a minor in chemistry, is a three-time National Champion (tied for most in program history) and a 15-time All-American (most in program history). She became the first member of the women's track and field team to win multiple individual events in the same NCAA Championships by winning the 200 and 400 at the 2023 NCAA Outdoors. Wayt holds 10 school records, to go along with 16 OAC Championships and 21 All-OAC finishes.
 
For her incredible season, Wayt was named the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, the USTFCCCA Division III Women's Outdoor Track Scholar Athlete of the Year, the NCAA Elite 90 Outdoor Track and Field winner, College Sports Communicators' Academic All-America® Division III Women's Track and Field/Cross Country of the Year, Mount Union's OAC Clyde Lamb Female Award recipient, among other honors and accolades. Wayt, a combined four-time OAC Sprinter of the Year honoree, has helped the Purple Raiders win a total of six OAC Team Championships. Her 200 Indoor Championship at the 2023 NCAA Indoors helped Mount Union place fifth overall – the program's best finish at Indoors in school history. 
 
Wayt, a team captain, has made a difference off the track as she has volunteered at Aultman Alliance Community Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House in Cleveland. Additionally, she was the recipient of Mount Union's Dr. Leonard and Gretchen Epp Biology award.
 
The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in October. The selection committee will then determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced in November.
 
From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year. The honorees will be celebrated at the Woman of the Year Award Ceremony at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix in January.