After being nominated by the University of Redlands, senior track & field student-athlete Jessica Fields (Las Vegas, NV) received the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (SCIAC) selection as one of two representatives to move onto national consideration for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year. She and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges' Nicole Tan were voted forward by the athletic administrators from the pool of eight nominees in the conference.
Overall, a record-breaking 605 female college student-athletes from all NCAA divisions, including 220 from Division III, were nominated by their respective institutions. In its 30th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is based on four pillars of athletics, academics, service, and leadership.
Fields has gained incredible success in her sport during her four-year tenure at Redlands. She became a four-time SCIAC Champion by winning the 100 Hurdles and 400 Hurdles during her sophomore and junior seasons. She also ranks among Redlands All-Time Top-10 List with the top spot in the 400 Hurdles with a time of 1:01.05, which is also the conference record.
Fields completed her rookie season by earning two All-SCIAC awards and an All-West Region nod. Since then, she has been honored as a five-time All-Region honoree, culminating in the 2020 West Regional Indoor Women's Track Athlete of the Year. Earlier this spring, she was set to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships before the unfortunate cancellation of the season.
In addition, she garnered All-America status as a sophomore in the 100 Hurdles with a fifth-place time of 14.28 at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Fields continued her dominance and became the SCIAC Women's Track Athlete of the Year in 2019. She then went on to garner national attention as the NCAA Division III Athlete of the Week before repeating as an All-American in the 100 Hurdles and the 400 Hurdles.
Outside of athletics, Fields was an active member of the Alpha Theta Phi sorority and the Phi Sigma Biological Honors Society, which met weekly to discuss science and medical current events with others in the community. In addition, Fields took advantage of the opportunity to be a research lab assistant in her second semester of her senior year. She also helped with a multitude of volunteer projects, including Reading Across America, the Orange Blossom Trail clean-up, and the Magic Yarn Project. She also gained experience as a facilitator at a Ropes Leadership course. Most recently, Fields participated in the Nevada State Treasurer's Office College Success webinar by serving on a panel discussion for high school students to aid in their college selection process.
Since recently completing her bachelor's degree in Biology with a minor in Spanish, Fields has been busy studying for the MCAT in hopes of attending medical school soon.
"Being a scholar-athlete, sorority member, and biology pre-med major enabled me to look at life through different lenses and empowered me on my journey to become a medical doctor," Fields commented in her application.
From its member schools' nominees, each conference selected up to two, with the SCIAC choosing Fields and Tan, to push forward in the process. From this group, the top 30, including 10 from each division, will be determined by a committee of athletics personnel and announced this September. The winner of the NCAA Woman of the Year will be made later this fall.
For a complete list of the 605 school nominees, please visit www.ncaa.org.