Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302
 
NCAA Press Release
 
INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 23, 2025) – North Central College alumna and women's triathlon standout Hailey Poe '25 has been named a 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 nominee.
 
Poe is just the third NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 nominee in North Central history and the second Cardinal women's triathlon honoree, following Naomi Hill '21, who was selected as a finalist in 2021.
 
Established in 1991, the award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes female student-athletes who have completed their undergraduate studies and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers. 
 
The Top 30 were selected from a record-breaking pool of 631 nominees and includes 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. Each honoree has demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. In total, the Top 30 honorees competed in 14 NCAA championship sports and two NCAA Emerging Sports for Women, one being women's triathlon.
 
In the fall of 2024, Poe helped lead the Cardinals to their third straight Division III USA Triathlon national championship and their sixth in program history. She became first Division III triathlete to capture the individual title in each of her four seasons, and was recognized as the inaugural recipient of the USA Triathlon ALEXANDER Award, presented to the top collegiate triathlete, regardless of division, who demonstrates excellence in athletics, academics and community service.
 
Her high-level performances on the national stage earned her four Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association (CTCA) All-American honors while also earning six All-Region nods having competed in the USA Triathlon Central, West, and East region races during her collegiate career. Additionally, Poe was the individual regional champion in five of those six races. A standout competitor from the start, Poe was named the USA Triathlon 2021 Freshman of the Year and in her final three years of competition, she was undefeated against Division III competition.
 
In 2022, Poe competed at the World Triathlon Sprint Championships in Montreal, Canada, where she placed fifth in her age group and ninth overall.
 
In addition to her athletic success, Poe excelled in the classroom as an ethical leadership and sport management double major, earning CTCA Scholar All-America status in each of her four seasons. She was a three-time Academic All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) honoree and was named North Central's Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference Award recipient in the fall of 2024. A seven-time Dean's List selection, Poe was inducted into North Central's Chi Alpha Sigma student-athlete honor society in 2024 and was presented with the Leadership, Ethics, and Values program scholarship in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
 
Poe was an exceptional member of her campus and local communities, dedicating her time and service in many capacities. A three-year member of North Central's Student-Athlete Advisory committee (SAAC) and two-year representative for the CCIW SAAC, she served as vice president during the 2022-23 season before taking the helm as president in 2024. Poe helped lead the annual athletics award ceremony, collaborated on Special Olympics events, and led initiatives for the SAAC for Social Accountability sessions on campus. Poe dedicated her time to North Central's Student-Governing Association (SGA), Orientation Staff, First-Year Mentor program among other campus roles.
 
Poe organized numerous campus and community service projects in conjunction with The Hidden Opponent, The Body Collective, and the Women in Sports Organization and the College's National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration. She developed and presented research at North Central's Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research on social media and athlete advocacy through her senior thesis and independent studies and assisted her peers' research team in presenting at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS).
 
From the Top 30 finalists, the Woman of the Year Selection Committee will choose the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be announced this fall and recognized at the NCAA Convention in January.