Women's Indoor Track and Field | 7/17/2024 10:00:00 AM
Olivia Gilbert, a member of the Alfred University women’s soccer and indoor and outdoor track and field team was named the 2023-24 Empire 8 Conference Co-Woman of the Year. This award honors a senior female student-athlete who has distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service, and leadership.
Gilbert is the first student-athlete from Alfred chosen as the conference’s Woman of the Year. Gilbert is also the sixth student-athlete in Empire 8 history to be named both the Woman of the Year and the Female Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year, which she earned last month.
“Being named Empire 8 Co-Woman of the year is a testament of all the hard work and dedication I have put forth through my four years as a dual-sport athlete at Alfred University,” said Gilbert. “I am so grateful that it has finally shown, and I hope I have demonstrated that years of hard work and discipline do pay off. Alfred was the perfect place for me to thrive with a supportive, tight-knit community where I could excel on and off the field. I was encouraged to take advantage of every opportunity and I was pushing myself every day. Choosing to participate in Division III athletics was a choice I will never regret, and I encourage anyone on the fence to participate in college athletics.”
Gilbert excelled on the soccer field for the Saxons, playing in and starting all 61 games in her collegiate career as a center midfielder, logging nearly 5,000 minutes of action. A two-year team captain, she tallied 10 career points on four goals and two assists and garnered All-Empire 8 third team honors in 2023. Gilbert helped lead Alfred to four Empire 8 Tournament berths, including three trips to the league semifinals.
Gilbert became a standout on the track, specializing in the 800-meters. She was a six-time E8 Champion, winning back-to-back 800-meter titles at both the 2023 and 2024 Empire 8 Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Gilbert also led Alfred’s 4 x 400-meter and 4 x 800-meter relay teams that emerged victorious at the 2024 Empire 8 Outdoor Championships. Gilbert was named the 2024 Empire 8 Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and two-time United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Atlantic Region selection.
In addition, Gilbert holds Alfred University program records in the indoor 400-meter dash (1:00.47), indoor 1,000-meter run (3:05.89) and outdoor 800-meter run (2:17.47) and outdoor 4 x 800-meter relay (9:48.86).
“Getting to know Liv these past four years has been such an honor,” said Matt Phillips, Alfred Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Head Coach. “She has a great attitude, and you can tell how motivated she is not only with her athletics, but in her academic pursuits as well. When talking with Liv, you can see her passion and the pride she has in what she does. Liv shares that mindset and creates a positive impact on those around her. She pursues whatever is set in front of her with discipline, dedication, and a positive work ethic. Even after gaining success on the track and in the field of engineering, her attitude has not changed. She shows up each day and works just as hard and will still go the extra mile (literally at times) to do the right thing for her team, her peers, and for those in her community. Liv is an exemplary role model for other students and athletes here at Alfred to look up to.”
Gilbert wrapped up her four-year career at Alfred by winning the Nicolas F. Clark ’11 Ideal Saxon Award, given to a senior who has displayed excellence in the areas of athletics, academics, and service/leadership to the Alfred University community. She was also named the 2023-24 Muriel Strong Morley Award winner, given to a women’s student-athlete who has the top athletic marks of the year.
“Olivia is one of the most well-rounded individuals I have had the pleasure of coaching,” said Alfred head women’s soccer coach Craig Yanni. “She is respectful, reliable, and compassionate. To have a student-athlete with these characteristics in our program is something every coach and teammate can truly appreciate. Over the four years I have known Olivia, I have been truly amazed at how she carries herself and the positive impact she has on everyone she comes across in our campus community.”
A native of Ontario, N.Y., Gilbert recently earned her bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from Alfred, with minors in chemistry and business administration, while carrying a tremendous 3.9 grade-point average. She is a seven-time member of the Empire 8 President's List for maintaining at least a 3.75 grade-point average, while earning Alfred Saxon Scholar Athlete and Dean’s list honors in all eight semesters.
In 2024, Gilbert won the State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence, which recognizes model students who have integrated academic excellence with other aspects of their lives. She was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honors Society, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Society, Chi Alpha Sigma Athletic Honors Society and Phi Beta Kappa Liberal Arts Honors Society. In addition, Gilbert was named a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team selection in both soccer and track and field.
Gilbert was awarded Alfred University’s prestigious Advancement of Women in Engineering Award in 2023, which is presented to a female who has shown promise in her field, high scholastic achievements and be active within engineering. In 2022, Gilbert won the McMahon Achievement award for excellence during a Co-op experience.
Outside of the field and classroom, Gilbert excelled in community engagement, volunteering at the YMCA of Hornell, organizing team members to prepare YMCA gardens for winter and re-opening in the spring. She also volunteered at Alfred-Almond Central School, mentored various Alfred-Almond varsity track and field student-athletes, and organized canned food drives at various athletic events to donate to local pantries. She also served as a co-op engineer on a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project, which included work in Alfred and Knoxville, Tenn. developing a vacuum microwave sintering process for a lunar landing pad.
“Olivia is the ideal student-athlete, so impressive in all aspects of the collegiate experience,” said Joe Venniro, Empire 8 Senior Associate Commissioner. “What she has accomplished in the classroom and in her co-op experiences in addition to being in season throughout the entire academic year as a standout soccer player and league champion track and field athlete is inspiring. She has an incredibly bright future ahead of her.”
Gilbert joins an elite group of student-athletes from across NCAA Division I, II and III nominated for the award. Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers. She will also be forwarded to the national DIII Commissioner’s Association Senior Female Athlete of the Year award.
The committee will choose the top ten nominees in each division (I, II and III) in fall 2024. From among those 30 honorees, the selection committee will determine the top three in each division in late fall. The 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the 2025 NCAA Convention in January.
Gilbert and fellow co-winner Madi Morton of Elmira College led a strong contingent of six outstanding nominees considered by the Empire 8 Woman of the Year Committee:
2023-24 Empire 8 Woman of the Year Finalists
Olivia Gilbert, Alfred University
Madi Morton, Elmira College
Julie Ruzzi, Hartwick College
Julia Holmes, Nazareth College
Delayne Young, St. John Fisher University
Angela Hawthorne, Utica University
For more information on the NCAA Woman of the Year,
CLICK HERE.
Past E8 Woman of the Year
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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