Ednah Kurgat of the University of New Mexico, Amy-Eloise Neale from the University of Washington, Boise State University’s Allie Ostrander and Charlotte Taylor of the University of San Francisco are the four nominees for the Class of 2018 Honda Sport Award for Cross Country as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 42 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”.  The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2018 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Monday, June 25, 2018, in downtown Los, Angeles.

The nominees were chosen from the top four finishes at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championship. The Honda Sport award winner for cross country will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

Kurgat, a sophomore from Eldoret, Kenya, captured the 2017 NCAA Individual Cross Country Championship title setting a new Division I 6k women’s championship record by more than eight seconds. She captured five wins in all five meets she competed in to finish the season undefeated and led the Lobos to its second National Championship title in three years. She is the first woman to win the NCAA team and individual title in the same year since 2010.

Neale is a senior from Snohomish, Wash., and was the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Individual Championship runner-up and one of only two repeat Top-10 finishers at the NCAA Championships. She is a two-time United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-American and a two-time All-Pac-12 first-team honoree. She finished in the top three in four events this season.

Ostrander is a two-time Honda Award nominee after earning a nomination her freshman season and red-shirting last fall. The redshirt sophomore from Kenai, Alaska, is a two-time USTFCCCA All-American and finished fourth at the 2017 NCAA Championship. She is also a two-time first-team All-Mountain West performer and received the 2017 Elite 90 Award for Cross Country, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at an NCAA Championship event.

Taylor, a senior from Spalding, England, was the third-place finisher at the 2017 NCAA Championship after capturing both the West Region and West Coast Conference Individual titles and setting course records at both events. The 2017 West Region Athlete of the Year, she is a two-time USTFCCCA All-American, two-time All-WCC performer and a two-time All-West Region honoree. She was named the 2017 NCAA Scholar Athlete of the Year and a 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-American.

Honda Sport Award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year and all Honda Sport Award winners become a finalist for the prestigious 2018 Honda Cup award presented in June.

The CWSA, celebrating its 42nd year, has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.  Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.1 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs. 

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