ITHACA, N.Y. – Emma Dewart, a recent graduate of Ithaca College and member of the Bomber track & field team, has been named the 2012 Empire 8 Woman of the Year. The award is given to an athlete who excels in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, community service and leadership. As the Empire 8's winner, Dewart will represent the conference in national balloting for the NCAA Woman of the Year.

Dewart, who graduated in May with a degree in health promotion and physical education, is the second Bomber in as many years to represent the Empire 8. Marcia McCord, a 2011 graduate, was an Empire 8 selection last year. An Ithaca athlete has been honored four out of the past seven years.  

Dewart closed out her collegiate career as the most decorated athlete in program history with 11 all-America finishes. Dewart repeated as the NCAA indoor pentathlon champion this season with a school-record 3,674-point performance.

As a senior, Dewart was named a first-team academic all-American, USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Indoor and Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, Empire 8 Indoor and Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, Empire 8 Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet and NYSCTC Indoor and Outdoor Field Athlete of the Meet. In addition to the pentathlon school record, she helped set the indoor 4x200-meter relay record of 1:45.49.

Dewart, who won Ithaca's Iris Carnell Award as the senior class' top female athlete, holds nine school records; six individual records and three relay records. A five-time United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year, Dewart is a 16-time Empire 8 champion, 22-time New York State Collegiate Track Conference champion and a four-time Eastern College Athletic Conference champion. She was named Empire 8 Field Athlete of the Year during seven of her eight seasons and collected NYSCTC Field Athlete of the Meet honors four times.