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Women's Cross Country

Valarie Tucker Honored by NCAA for Sportsmanship

Carson, CA - Former Toro cross country runner Valarie Tucker has been honored by the NCAA for sportsmanship during the 2006-07 season after being selected to represent the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) at the national level.

Tucker, who maintained a 3.81  cumulative GPA while receiving her degree in liberal studies in May 2007, was  a true team leader, recording the top Toro time in every cross country meet  while earning a season-best 6th-place finish at the Cal State Bakersfield meet  in early fall.

“We couldn't be more proud of Valarie, who personifies everything a student-athlete should be,” begins CSUDH Director of Athletics Patrick Guillen.  “This Sportsmanship Award not only highlights and recognizes Valarie's behavior and respectful attributes on and off the field of competition, it also exemplifies her peer-to-peer role model status and solidifies the fact that, because of her incredible overall efforts, she is the most heralded student-athlete that our program has ever produced.  She is absolutely worthy of this award as well as her being named a top 30 finalist in the NCAA's search for Woman of the Year.”

More import than her success as a  student-athlete, Tucker has been a volunteer teacher's aide since 2003, and  founded and developed in 2004 a physical education after school program at a  local elementary school where she makes lesson plans for underprivileged  Hispanic children, helping to develop sports skills and gross/fine motor  skills.  Tucker also served on the CSUDH Student Athlete Advisory  Committee (SAAC) and volunteers as an apprentice coach for 13-18 year olds at  Downey High School.

“This is a tremendous honor for Valerie, our Athletics Department, and the University,” adds Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Boice Bowman, echoing Guillen's sentiments.  “I am very proud of her accomplishments in athletics, but even more so her service to the community.  She truly represents the very best this University has to offer.”

The NCAA committee on  Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct is committed to featuring positive role  models in sportsmanship and ethical conduct who display the highest ideals of  respect, caring, civility, fairness, honesty, integrity, and responsibility  through participation in intercollegiate athletics.

In addition to being  honored for her sportsmanship, Tucker was chosen as one of 30 final candidates for the  prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award that spanned Divisions I, II and III, and received the Arthur Ashe Jr.  Award during spring 2007.

Now in its 17th year, the Woman of the Year Award honors exceptional female student-athletes who have excelled in  academics, athletics and community leadership, and have completed their  collegiate athletics eligibility.  The top 30 nominees earned an overall  grade point average (GPA) of 3.83, with seven posting a perfect 4.0 GPAs.   They graduated with a variety of majors, including biotechnology,  political science, mathematics, psychology, marketing, exercise science,  engineering physics, criminal justice, information systems management,  Spanish, pre-med and education.

Inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.'s commitment to  education, the Arthur Ashe Jr. Award is presented to undergraduate students of  color who have made achieving both academically and athletically a winning  combination.  To be eligible for this award, students have to compete in an intercollegiate sport, maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2, and be  active on campus and in the community, criteria that exemplify the standards  of scholarship, athleticism and humanitarianism.
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Players Mentioned

Valarie Tucker

Valarie Tucker

Senior

Players Mentioned

Valarie Tucker

Valarie Tucker

Senior