Cavinta, O'Brien Named NCAA Woman of the Year Nominees
Boise State student-athletes Gabriela Cavinta and Clare O'Brien have been selected as nominees for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Cavinta (gymnastics) and O'Brien (cross country and track and field) are among 535 student-athletes across the country to earn a nomination for the award which honors academic achievement, athletic excellence, community service and leadership of outstanding female student-athletes.
The Women's Sports Fund aims to raise awareness and enhance the experience for Broncos like Gabriela and Clare. Donations to the Women’s Sports Fund will help push Boise State female student-athletes to even greater heights in the classroom, competition and in the community!
Gabriela Cavinta - Gymnastics
Gabriela Cavinta (née Bouza-Lazo) concluded her Boise State gymnastics career as a two-time all-conference performer and a three-time academic all-conference honoree. More impressive than the accolades is Cavinta's incredible journey to reach the peak of her athletic and academic career at Boise State.
Cavinta was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was 10 years old.
“Having endured communism and the toll it takes on its people to then living freely and being allowed to have wild dreams and aspirations made me realize that I could live life to the fullest,” Cavinta said. “From them on, I wanted to become my best self, help others around me and make an impact in peoples' lives, especially those around me on a daily basis.”
She is adamant about helping others in part because she knows how much her support system helped her reach where she is today. Cavinta credits watching her mother and father fight for a better life as what pushed her through dark times. She also quickly points to mentors throughout her education.
Cavinta did not learn to speak English until after she arrived in the United States. She thanks her teachers and friends in middle school and high school for supporting her during the early years of learning the language. Now she is a college graduate, earning her degree in health sciences earlier this year. And earning it with distinction.
In addition to the three academic all-conference awards, Cavinta was a 2020 Scholastic All-American. Throughout her Boise State career, she earned a spot on the Dean's List four times.
While her academic achievements came with time, gymnastics was always there for her. At Boise State Cavinta blossomed into the 2020 Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference co-Specialist of the Year on vault, in addition to first-team All-MRGC honors on vault in 2020 and on beam in 2018. She competed for the Broncos at two NCAA Regional Championships.
“I found gymnastics and quickly learned that this was my way to excelling academically and athletically,” Cavinta said. “My club coach, Gina (Mueller-Martin), was my greatest role model. She not only coached me, but also went out of her way to teach me English during practice and throughout life. She has been there for all of my major decisions and challenging moments.”
Cavinta says the community she was surrounded with by growing up around gymnastics helped her learn compassion. She took that beyond gymnastics, volunteering her time and providing her support anywhere she could.
After arriving in Boise, she continued pouring into the people around her. Cavinta volunteered countless hours during her career with groups such as Ronald McDonald House and Make-A-Wish. She also worked gymnastics camps and clinics, serving not only as a coach but also as an overnight chaperone responsible for preparing meals and scheduling all activities.
With her background, civic engagement and voting rights are especially important to Cavinta. In high school she volunteered in her community during the 2016 Presidential Election, working as a technician. At Boise State, Cavinta spearheaded a drive to help student-athletes register to vote.
“I am so happy for Gabby,” said Boise State gymnastics head coach Tina Bird. “She is a strong young woman who is very deserving of this recognition. Gabby brought so much to our program the last four years and I know she will continue to offer great things to this world.”
As she moves on from Boise State, she has poured a foundation she is proud of and looks forward to building on it for the rest of her life.
“Being able to finish my academic and gymnastics career has helped me realize that I became the person that ‘little me’ wanted to be," Cavinta said. "For my new chapter in life, I will continue to strive to make a positive impact in this world."
Clare O'Brien - Cross Country/Track & Field
Clare O'Brien was named Boise State's 2020-21 Female Athlete of the Year and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. O'Brien, whose two All-America honors on the outdoor track this year ran her career total to five All-America nods, is currently working toward her master's of business administration and applying her knowledge in a meaningful way on campus and beyond.
O'Brien wrapped up her career this season with a pair of first-team All-America performances by finishing sixth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, and two days later turned in an eighth-place finish in the 5,000 meters. She claimed two Mountain West titles in her career, winning the 3,000-meter run at the 2017 indoor championships and contributing to the winning distance medley team at the same meet, and was a six-time all-conference performer.
An eight-time Academic All-Mountain West honoree and four-time MW Scholar-Athlete, O'Brien carries a 3.91 grade-point average through the first half of her MBA program. She claimed two Mountain West titles in her career
“For an MBA program that prides itself on the high caliber of our students, Clare stands out as exceptional,” said Trisha Stevens Lamb, director of Boise State's career-track MBA program. “Not only is she one of the brightest and hardest working students in the program, she makes her classmates better by being a part of the MBA cohort.”
Away from the track and outside of the classroom, O'Brien uses her expertise and determination to make her community a better place. She has worked on campus to raise awareness and increase student engagement with sustainability programs, as well as creating a project to show the feasibility of implementing a campus compost program.
Beyond Boise State, she worked with the Red Cross to use volunteer data from across the country to create actionable insights to increase volunteer rates and retention. Her project was selected by the Red Cross for implementation.
She finished her undergraduate work in August 2020, earning a degree in environmental studies with a minor in sustainability. This fall she will finish her second degree from Boise State and continue drawing on her education and experience to make a difference in the world.
“Just a great student, great person, great teammate,” said Boise State track and field head coach Corey Ihmels. “She's going to have a fantastic career outside of track and field and cross country and I'm excited to see what she does in the future. We hope to have a bunch more Clares come through the door, over the next few years.”
About the NCAA Woman of the Year Award
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award has honored the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of outstanding female college athletes.
Following university nominations, conference offices will then select their nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year. Each conference nominee will be notified by the NCAA, and all conference-round nominees will be announced on ncaa.org in August.
Conference nominations are forwarded to the NCAA Woman of the Year Selection Committee, which identifies the top 10 honorees in each of the three NCAA divisions. From those 30 honorees, the selection committee then determines the three finalists in each division for a total of nine finalists.
The Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year from the nine finalists. At an award ceremony Oct. 17 in Indianapolis, the Top 30 honorees will be celebrated, and the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named.