RICHMOND, Ky. - The NCAA has announced that former Eastern Kentucky University cross country and track star Sarah Blossom has been named the state of Kentucky's NCAA Woman of the Year for 1999.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors outstanding female student-athletes from NCAA institutions who have excelled in the collegiate environment beyond their athletics' pursuits with academic achievements and community involvement.

Blossom, who hails from Indianapolis, IN, and who will graduate in December with a degree in occupational therapy from Eastern, joins 50 other state-level winners (including the District of Columbia) who also received this year's NCAA Woman of the Year honor.

"Sarah exemplifies what it means to be a student-athlete," said EKU Athletics Director Jeff Long. "She has excelled in the classroom and as a cross country and track athlete. Sarah embodies everything that is good about intercollegiate athletics and we are extremely proud of her many accomplishments as an EKU student-athlete."

Blossom is a four-time GTE first-team Academic All-American and also received one second-team GTE Academic All-American notice while competing at EKU. During her career at Eastern, she was a member of numerous All-Ohio Valley Conference cross country, indoor track and outdoor track squads and was the 1995 OVC Female Cross Country Runner of the Year.

A committee composed of representatives from member schools selected the state winners who were chosen from more than 300 nominations.

The 51 state-level winners include 28 student-athletes from Division I, 12 student-athletes from Division II and 11 student-athletes from Division III. These NCAA Woman of the Year honorees participated in 11 of the 17 sports in which women compete for NCAA championships.

Ten finalists will be announced later this month. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the national winner of the NCAA Woman of the Year Award from among the finalists.

The national honoree will be announced at the NCAA Woman of the Year Awards Dinner which will take place Sunday evening, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis, IN.

The awards dinner will be emceed by television personalities Robin Roberts and Kathy Johnson-Clark and will be preceded by a VIP reception at 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening at the Westin Hotel.

Blossom becomes the second EKU athlete to receive the state's NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Amy Clements, former Colonel track and cross country athlete, won the 1995 Kentucky NCAA Woman of the Year Award and went on to be named one of the 10 finalists that year for the national award.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award was first given in 1991.