Shelby Wackerly, center, is a two-time national champion and an All-American for the Central rowing program. [UCO Photo Services]

Women's Rowing 11/2/2020 12:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

Know The 'Chos: Shelby Wackerly

The University of Central Oklahoma athletic department is showcasing its student-athletes each Monday this fall with a quick glance at who your favorite Bronchos are on and off the water in a segment called Know The 'Chos, sponsored by McBride Orthopedic Hospital.

Up this week is women's rower, Shelby Wackerly, a senior from Edmond, Oklahoma.

Wackerly is a senior rower and two-time national champion that has been an integral member of the top-rated program in the country. She earned All-American honors during her junior season. She was also nominated as an All-American last spring in the season that was cut short due to the global health crisis.

As a sophomore, she rowed the Varsity 4+ boat to a second-place finish at the NCAA Division II national championships, which helped the Bronchos win their first national title in school history.

As a junior, she again rowed the V4+ boat but this time to a first-place finish at the NCAA Division II national championships. It was the first V4+ national title in school history and helped secure the Bronchos their second consecutive national championship.

Wackerly has also helped Central land the No. 1 ranking in the country way back in the first regular season poll of the 2018 season, a spot UCO has yet to relinquish since.

Here's the file:

Name: Shelby Wackerly

Hometown: Edmond, Okla.

Sport: Rowing

Class: Senior

Major: Strategic Communications

Favorite memory at Central: My favorite memory since being at UCO was winning NCAAs in 2018 and 2019. In 2018 we were the first in program history to win it all. Then in 2019 we pushed even harder and swept the whole thing (winning both the Varsity 8+ and the Varsity 4+ national titles). I am so incredibly proud to be a part of the legacy we have created. Those days are ones I will never forget.

Best part about UCO: The best part about UCO is the amazing faculty, staff, and students. They all make this university one of a kind.

More about this student athlete: Helped Central to a handful of wins in the fall semester of her "original" senior season in 2019 and was poised for a three-peat in the spring of 2020 before the season was cancelled.

In 2018-19, she helped the Bronchos hold the No. 1 spot in the country from the preseason poll to the end of the season when Central stood on the podium as national champions. She helped the fours win the first title in school history and helped the team win its second consecutive national championship. She was awarded All-American honors following the season.

In 2017-18, she helped Central overtake the No. 1 spot in the national rankings in the first regular season poll of the year. She eventually helped the fours row to a runner-up finish at the national championships, which earned UCO enough team points to win the team title for the first time in school history.

In 2016-17, Wackerly was a member of the rowing program's novice squad.

She was a volleyball Regional Champion (2014-2015) in high school at Deer Creek. She also helped the team to the a fifth-place finish in Oklahoma's Class 6A state tournament. Wackerly was also an Academic All-State honoree in 2015-16. A Kinesioloy major with a Strategic Communications minor, she plans on going into sales, ideally in the medical field. Wackerly also lists the St. Louis Cardinals as her top pro sports team and says The Blindside is her top sports movie.

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Players Mentioned

Shelby Wackerly: 5' 10"; Senior; Varsity

Players Mentioned

Shelby Wackerly
: 5' 10"; Senior; Varsity