Alabama’s Mercy Chelangat is Once Again a Honda Award for Cross Country Finalist

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama distance ace Mercy Chelangat, last season's Honda Sport Award for Cross Country winner, is among four finalists for this year's honor, Chris Voelz, the Executive Director of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) announced today.

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 46 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 2021 Honda Cup.

The nominees were chosen from the top-four finishes at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships held on November 20th in Tallahassee, Fla. 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.

Chelangat, a junior from Kericho, Kenya, was the 2021 SEC and NCAA South Regional champion and the NCAA Championships runner-up after winning the NCAA and SEC Cross Country titles last season. She was Alabama's first individual national cross country champion.

The CWSA, celebrating its 46th anniversary 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.

Mercy Chelangat

2021 Honda Sport Award winner for Cross Country – first in Alabama history
2020-21 NCAA Cross Country Champion – first in UA history
Two-time USTFCCCA All-American in cross country
2021 NCAA South Region Athlete of the Year
2021 NCAA South Region Champion by more than six seconds
Back-to-back individual SEC Cross Country champion
Two-time SEC Cross Country Runner of the Year
2021 SEC Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year - first-ever for Alabama
Only student-athlete in SEC women's cross country history to be named both the conference's runner and scholar-athlete of the year
2020-21 USTFCCCA CC Athlete and Scholar Athlete of the Year
Holds six school records
2021 CoSIDA Academic All-American
2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships Runner-Up in the 10,000m and fifth in the 5,000m
2021 SEC Outdoor 5,000m and 10,000m Champion

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