GAINESVILE, Fla. – Vanderbilt’s Veronica Fraley is the Co-SEC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the league announced Wednesday.
“As we kick off championship week, the well-deserved recognition from the SEC for Veronica’s elite accomplishments as a student-athlete is amazing,” director of track and field and cross country Althea Thomas said. “Veronica represents what we intentionally aim for with all of our student-athletes. This is the second award in the last three years for our program (Nick Lanning, 2021) Being the example for the conference and NCAA is our goal. To show that we do both.”
Fraley, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, is pursuing her second master’s degree from Vandy in human development and owns a 3.80 GPA. After earning her undergraduate degree in health science with a minor in Spanish from Clemson, she received her first graduate degree in biological sciences from Vanderbilt.
In 2023, she was named USTFCCCA All-Academic and earned a spot on the Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll.
In addition to excelling in the classroom, Fraley is one of the top discus throwers in the world. Her 67.17-meter mark is third in the world, second in the United States this year. In 2022 and 2023, she competed at the World Athletics Championships and represented the U.S. at the Pan American Games in October.
She was the 2023 SEC and East Region champion in the discus and also won the regional title in the shot put. Fraley is also a two-time second-team All-America selection. This outdoor season, she has notched three consecutive wins in the discus and currently ranks fourth in the NCAA, second in the SEC in the event with a 61.37-meter mark.
Fraley will continue her season with Vanderbilt track and field Thursday at the SEC Outdoor Championships.