Every year, each of the 12 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) institutions honor two of their student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in the classroom and in their sport with the conference’s Charnofsky Award. Recognizing Chico State women’s track & field standout Nadia Torkman with the award for her achievements during the 2021–22 academic year is certainly a no-brainer, and the well-deserved accolade also makes her the easy choice for Wildcat of the Week.
In her final year of athletic eligibility, Torkman was the CCAA high jump champion while earning All-CCAA honors with a second place finish in the javelin. She posted a personal best distance of 39.51 meters in the javelin at the March 11 Aggie Open, and her high jump mark of 1.68 meters at the April 13 Bryan Clay Invitational not only netted Torkman the CCAA Women’s T&F Field Athlete of the Week award, but gave her a share of sixth place on Chico State’s all-time high jump Top 10 list.
Torkman’s achievements off the field of competition are perhaps even more impressive. After earning bachelor’s degrees in international relations and political science, she is currently working on completing a master’s degree in public administration. In addition to earning eight CCAA All-Academic honors and three Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Awards, Torkman’s work on Chico State Athletics’ multimedia “Scratch the Stigma” campaign earned the Nevada City product the 2019–20 CCAA Impact Award.
Torkman is also the architect of the department’s ’CatsSkills program, helping to foster the complete student-athlete through leadership, personal and professional development, as well as community engagement. The impact of ’CatsSkills—still benefitting Chico State athletes to this day—resulted in a nomination for the 2021 NCAA Division II Award of Excellence.
