Lizzy Crist, who attended St. Bartholomew Catholic School in Wayzata, won NCAA Woman of the Year Oct. 22 at a NCAA banquet in Indianapolis.
Crist graduated last May from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in biomedical engineering and a 3.9 GPA. She had a standout women’s soccer career for the Bears, with whom she won a Division III national title in 2016.
As the team’s goalkeeper, she owns the school record for shutouts, 31 all time. Besides her athletic and academic achievements, she also volunteered at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, tutored and coached first-grade girls soccer.
“This award is so big, and it goes so much beyond myself and my accomplishments,” Crist said. “Because I could not have done any of this without my teammates, my coaches, Wash U athletics [and] Wash U like the academic world. This award is for all those people, all those groups of people that contributed.”
The 27th annual award goes to a woman student-athletes who excels on the field, in the classroom and serving in the community. She won among the eight finalists and 29 nominees chosen from all three divisions of NCAA athletics.
Crist, who graduated from Minnetonka High School after attending St. Bartholomew, returned to the Twin Cities this fall to pursue a doctorate in biomedical engineering at the University of Minnesota. She hopes to work in cancer research and teach.
Crist said her interest math, which led to engineering, began at St. Bartholomew. An advanced math class at the school particularly sparked her passion.
“Having someone see the potential in me and put me into a more challenging environment really set the stage for everything going forward, where I’m now pursuing work again in a male-dominated sphere,” Crist said.
