Regis Jesuit graduate and US Olympian Missy Franklin has been nominated as a finalist to receive the 2015 ESPY Award in the Best Female College Athlete category.
At the University of California, Berkeley Franklin won three NCAA individual titles including 200 individual medley, 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke. She broke her own record in the 200 freestyle and was also named the 2015 NCAA Swimmer of the Year after leading her team to their first NCAA title in four years.
Franklin, who is a four-time Olympic gold medalist, made her Olympic debut at the age of 17 in 2012 where she won five total medals and was that years’ World Swimmer of the Year. She currently holds the world record in 4×100 meter medley relay. In total, Franklin has won 22 medals in international competition—14 gold, five silver and three bronze.
After leading Cal to a national championship, Franklin announced in March that she was turning pro. She’ll now focus her training on the next Olympics, in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.
There are four other finalists in the group for Best Female College Athlete.
Taylor Cummings – Maryland Lacrosse
Lauren Haeger – Florida Softball
Micha Hancock – Penn State Volleyball
Breanna Stewart – UConn Basketball
The ESPY’s will be presented Wednesday July, 15 at 6 p.m. MDT on ABC.
Vote for Missy Franklin as the Best Female College Athlete by clicking here.
Mike Tolbert, a Mile High Sports intern and student at MSU-Denver, contributed to this report