NCAA Names Latasha Jarrett Division I Sportswoman of the Year

NCAA Names Latasha Jarrett Division I Sportswoman of the Year

Bookmark and Share

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