Shannon Kalawan, a sophomore from Saint Augustine’s University, was named the 2018 DII Honda Athlete of the Year nominee for Track & Field as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.

Kalawan is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DII Honda Woman Athlete of the Year. This will be voted on at the end of the academic year by national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of THE CWSA program, now in its 42nd year.

“This is amazing!” exclaimed Kalawan. “Thanks to the committee for the nomination and thanks to Coach [George] Williams for his guidance. I approached the track season with passion, strength and fire and it turned out great.”

Kalawan, hailing from Westmoreland, Jamaica, was recently named the United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) DII National Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after capturing three National Championship titles at the DII NCAA Championship meet and scoring the most women’s points at the event. She raced past opponents to win the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles and anchored the 4x400-meter relay team to victory. She also won the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championship for four national titles in her first season of competition.

The sophomore is a six-time All-American and was also named the CIAA Women’s Track Runner of the Year after helping her team to the CIAA Indoor and Outdoor Conference Championship titles. Her hurdle time at the Florida Relays was the 13th-best in DII history and she is the seventh fastest DII hurdler in the history of the event.

 “​I am overwhelmed at this selection and grateful to everyone involved in choosing her,” said SAU head coach George Williams. “She's an outstanding student and an outstanding student-athete also.  I always tell people, ‘God didn't make winners and God didn't make losers but he made choosers’, and she makes great choices on the track and in the classroom. You could have not selected a better student-athlete anywhere."

All Honda Sports nominees from DII and DIII become a finalist for the prestigious 2018 Honda Woman Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented in a live telecast on CBS Sports on June 25, 2018, in downtown Los Angeles. The Honda Sports nominees are recognized in 11 DII and DIII NCAA-sanctioned sports; cross country, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field.

THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 42 years, recognizing 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 at the institutions.