University of Oklahoma Athletics

Thomas Earns 2005 NCAA Inspiration Award

ESPN2 To Broadcast NCAA Awards Dinner Featuring OU's Thomas

February 01, 2005 | Track and Field

NORMAN, Okla. Fifth-year senior Michelle Thomas is one of several current and former NCAA student-athletes to be featured in the broadcast of the 2005 NCAA Awards Dinner, scheduled to air at 1 p.m. central time Wednesday on ESPN 2. Thomas, as one of three NCAA Inspiration Award winners, was one of six honorees who spoke at the dinner which was held Jan. 9 at the Gaylord Resort in Grapevine, Texas.

Thomas was nominated for the Inspiration Award after a challenging senior year that included bringing two young nieces to Norman to live with her and go to school; dealing with the murder of an older sister on Martin Luther King's Day in January 2004, then paying for her sister's burial; and helping her twin sister and mother as they dealt with cancer while continuing to practice and compete and attend school. Thomas is majoring in microbiology with a minor in chemistry and will graduate in May with a better than 3.00 grade point average.

Thomas accepted the award in memory of her older sister and in honor of her twin sister.

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