Sally Kipyego Wins Honda Award For Third Straight Year
Posted Wednesday, 10 December, 2008
December 10, 2008 — Sally Kipyego, a Texas Tech University senior, has been chosen for the third year in a row as the nation’s top collegiate female cross-country athlete, earning her the 2009 Honda Sports Award. The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 33rd year. Kipyego’s achievement, which marks the launch of this year’s Honda Sports Awards, is the first time ever in the history of the program that an athlete has been honored three times with the cross-country award. (Villanova runner Vickie Huber won the cross-country award once and the track & field award twice.) In 33 years only seven other athletes besides Kipyego and Huber have ever won the Honda Sports Award three times (see below).
The Honda Sports Award is given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, along with automatic nomination for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. Sally Kipyego was voted over three other nominees for the 2009 award: Tasmin Fanning, a senior at Virginia Tech, Brie Felnagle, a senior at the University of North Carolina, and Susan Kuijken, a Florida State University junior. The candidates were selected based on their finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
“Being the first to win this prestigious award three times for cross-country is very humbling and I thank God for the opportunity,” noted Kipyego. ”It’s a great honor and privilege and I’m truly grateful for the support of my teammates and coaches.”
Kipyego, who is majoring in nursing, finished her college cross-country career with one of her school’s most impressive athletic records ever. She went undefeated in her three years at Texas Tech and is the most decorated female student-athlete in NCAA Division I cross country history. With her course record-setting victory of 19:29 at the NCAA championships this year, she became the first woman in NCAA Division I history to win three consecutive Cross Country titles. She also won her third NCAA Mountain Regional and Big 12 title this season, and led her Texas Tech team to its first-ever regional and conference championship. A ten-time All-American and eight-time NCAA champion in cross-country and track, this year Kipyego was also named Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year for the third time. She has six siblings, including brothers Chris and Mike who both run professionally. Kipyego looks forward to perhaps becoming a professional runner herself.
Other Three-Time Honda Sports Award Winners
Besides Kipyego and Huber, there are only seven other three-time winners of the Honda Sports Award, including: Karen Shelton of West Chester University for Field Hockey; Kristen Kjellman of Northwestern University for Lacrosse; Tracy Caulkins of the University of Florida for Swimming and Diving; as well as two softball players, Kathy Arendsen of Texas Women’s University and Lisa Fernandez of UCLA; and two gymnasts, Ann Carr of Penn State and Jenny Hansen of the University of Kentucky.
Honda Award winners in basketball, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field will be announced in the coming months. The Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year will be determined by separate balloting involving all NCAA-member institutions and the winner will receive the Honda-Broderick Cup in New York in June 2009.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. sponsors the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program.
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