Courtesy of Salisbury University Athletic Communications

INDIANAPOLIS – Salisbury University field hockey standout Arielle Johnston has been named one of the nine finalists for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Nine finalists, three women from each NCAA division, were selected for their outstanding achievements in academics, athletics, community service and leadership.

Johnston is only the second Salisbury student-athlete in the history of the NCAA Woman of the Year to be honored as a finalist of the award, joining SU Athletics Hall of Famer and women's lacrosse alumna Sue (Ackermann) Camper '08, who was a finalist in 2008. 

Johnston was selected from a record 605 school nominees, a group that was then narrowed to 161 nominees by conference offices. Then, the field was narrowed down to the Top 30 honorees which included 10 honorees from each division and 14 sports, including two emerging sports.

In July, Johnston was announced as SU's nominee for the prestigious national award. Then in August, the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) was selected as the conference's nominee for the honor.

This year, Johnston collected College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America First Team honors, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the NCAA Elite 90 award for field hockey, earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, and was a finalist for the Division III Honda Athlete of the Year.

The CAC Player of the Year in 2019, Johnston was honored as a first-team NFHCA All-American this past fall. She is also a two-time NFHCA All-Region honoree and a three-time All-CAC First Team selection.

Throughout college, Johnston was involved in the Student-Athlete Wellness Advisory Team, overseeing the Student-Athlete Mentors program, in which she mentored student-athletes for four years. She also was a three-year representative on the Salisbury Field Hockey Leadership Council. 

In the local community, her contributions included serving as a classroom aide in an after-school program for students in kindergarten through second grade at the Epoch Dream Center and volunteering at the Hope and Life Outreach homeless shelter.

The finalists and Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced during a virtual awards show on Friday, November 13. The show will be streamed on the NCAA Twitter account and ncaa.org/woty, and it will be streamed by ESPN.