INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.-- The NCAA named University of Hartford's Latasha Jarrett the Division I Sportswoman of the Year in a release on Wednesday, September 10. Jarrett, a cross-country and track and field student-athlete, received the America East Sportsmanship Award earlier this year from the conference office.
Recipients
of the NCAA Sportsmanship Award, which honors student-athletes who have
demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including
fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility,
through their actions in the competitive arena of intercollegiate
athletics, are selected by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and
Ethical Conduct. This is the ninth year for the honor.
While Jarrett's four-year career was full of
ups and downs, Jarrett was always positive and a constant motivator for
her teammates. She struggled during much of her first three years with
illness, injury and bad luck, but as team captain and "most valuable
team member" her presence was still felt with the Hawks. Jarrett's hard
work and attitude paid off during her senior year in 2008. During the
America East Indoor Championship, she placed second in the high jump.
Jarrett had a great season while also juggling a very tough class load
as a first semester graduate student in physical therapy.
At the
outdoor conference championship, Jarrett continued to thrive, winning
the heptathlon. Her main event, however, was the high jump and it was
an event she needed to win in order to reach her goal of qualifying for
the NCAA Regionals. With an act of true honesty and sportsmanship,
though, Jarrett may have lost that opportunity. At the opening height,
she cleared 5'0" before excusing herself to run the heptathlon 800
meters. Once Jarrett finished that event, she returned to the high jump
in time to hear the official call the contestants to the next height of
5'2" and skip her name. When Jarrett asked why her name was omitted,
the official explained that she had already cleared that height.
Jarrett could have accepted that answer and taken the extra rest, but
she knew she had not cleared 5'2" yet and she admitted that. The
official gave her the choice of jumping or not, and Jarrett did because
it was the right thing to do even though it could have jeopardized her
chances of winning. Jarrett did not win the high jump, finishing third
and missing the NCAA Regionals.
Jarrett has impressed beyond the
track as well, graduating as an undergraduate physical therapy major
with a 3.12 GPA and also working at a specialty running shoe store to
pay for part of her college education. In addition, Jarrett's mother
was diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 2007 and Jarrett commuted
often between school and home to visit and take care of her mother and
her younger siblings. She still stayed connected to the Hartford
community, however, involving herself in a project educating inner city
elementary students on the importance of nutrition and exercise as well
as participating in the Hartford chapter of SAAC. Jarrett also worked
on the Hall of Fame banquet, and helped raise money volunteering at the
Manchester Road Race and Hartford Marathon during her collegiate career.
A male and female individual or team is selected each year for an association-wide award, in addition to winners in each division. The following are the 2008 recipients:
- Association-wide female recipient ? Mallory Holtman, Central Washington, softball
- Association-wide male recipient ? St. John Fisher baseball team
- Division I female recipient ? Latasha Jarrett, Hartford, track and field
- Division I male recipient ? Peter French, Air Force, fencing
- Division II male recipient ? Einar Often, Alaska Fairbanks, skiing
- Division III female recipient ? Kristen Carter, Grove City, cross country