Dual-sport star and North Atlantic Conference Woman of the Year Rachel Bombardier made history when she was selected as one of the top 30 honorees for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year. This marks the first-ever top-30 candidate in the history of Castleton athletics, as well as the North Atlantic Conference.

Bombardier was chosen by the NCAA’s selection committee as one of the top 10 honorees in all of Division III, and one of the top 30 nominees in the country across all divisions. Bombardier reaches the final 30 from a beginning pool of 517 nominees—the most in the 26-year history of the award.

Of the nominees for the national award, 231 competed in Division I, 117 competed in Division II and 169 competed in Division III athletics. The nominees also represent 21 different women’s sports, and 127 of the nominees competed in more than one college sports.

Bombardier is the fourth Spartan to win the NAC Woman of the Year award in the last five years, and was a standout in the rink, on the field, and in the classroom at Castleton.

The 2016 NAC Women’s Lacrosse Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year, she was a three-year letter winner and was a two-time All-NAC honoree at goalkeeper, prior to making the switch to defense her senior year in which she collected 20 ground balls, 11 draw controls, and caused 10 turnovers. She was a part of three NAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Title teams and made three NCAA Tournament appearances.

She lettered each year in women’s hockey and saw her team earn ECAC East Runner-Up finishes in both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.

Bombardier is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree and was most recently honored as a CoSIDA Academic All-American (at-large selection) and was the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division III Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She has also earned All-Academic honors from the ECAC, NAC, NEHC and the IWLCA throughout her career.

“This is a great honor not only for Rachel, but for Castleton, and the NAC, as well,” said Castleton Associate Dean for Athletics and Recreation, Deanna Tyson. “Rachel was an outstanding athlete and an even better student at Castleton. For her to be the first student-athlete from the conference to make it to the top 30 speaks volumes about her character, as well as her accomplishments on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.”

In October, Bombardier was honored among her top-30 peers at a special ceremony hosted by the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics in Indianapolis.