Cape native among finalists for NCAA Woman of the Year

Aptly named Sunny because she was born on the first sunny day after a long blizzard in '79, Sunny Deshea Gilbert's light has beamed brightly; athletically, academically and socially.

Her achievements at such a young age certainly command attention.

Born in Cape Girardeau where her paternal grandparents, Gary and Joy Gilbert, still reside, Gilbert has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award.

Among her accomplishments is being a member of a national championship relay team while running track and cross country at the University of Missouri.

"This award is not given to someone for just athletic or just scholastic achievement alone, but to someone who has balanced community service with the other two," said Gilbert, who will attend a banquet Sunday in Indianapolis, where the winner will be announced. "It says a lot about the people who were there to help me throughout my college career, my parents, teachers, coaches and teammates."

Gilbert, who grew up in the St. Louis area after a family move at the age of 2, graduated from Missouri in May with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and is now enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo.

Gilbert was born into a family of runners. Her grandparents have been members of the Cape Road Runners, a running club, since 1981 and still compete. Her father, Ken, and sister, Katie, are active marathoners.

At the very core of Gilbert's character is a willingness and zest to accept challenge.

While at Missouri, Gilbert specialized in the 800-meter run in indoor and outdoor track. She was a member of the 2001 NCAA national champion indoor distance medley relay team and helped set a Big 12 Conference distance medley relay record.

Gilbert excelled scholastically, as well, maintaining a 3.89 GPA as an undergraduate. She was chosen to the Big 12 All-Academic first team and the U. S. Track Coaches Association Academic All-American indoor and outdoor track and field teams three times.

In her spare time, Gilbert was involved in a number of campus activities such as serving on the University of Missouri Alumni Association Student Board.

"Sunny is the absolute epitome of all that we desire in a student athlete," said Missouri head track coach Rick McGuire.

Typically, in addition to her demanding schedule as a doctoral student, the personable, energetic Gilbert is a teaching assistant, runs marathons and is a member of a triathlon club.

Said University of Missouri athletics director Michael Alden, "She has shown academic integrity, social responsibility and competitive intensity in her years at Missouri and beyond."