2012-13 Honda Sports Award for Cross Country – Betsy Saina

LOS ANGELES, California (November 28, 2012) – 2012 NCAA Champion Betsy Saina of Iowa State has received the Honda Sports Award for Cross Country, Chris Voelz, Executive Director of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA), announced today.

The Honda Sports Award is presented annually by the CWSA to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports. With this honor, Saina becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2013 Honda Cup. Saina was chosen by a vote of coaches from 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Jordan Hasay (University of Oregon), Abbey D’Agostino (Dartmouth College) and Aliphine Tuliamuk-Bolton (Wichita State University).

“To be singled out as the top cross country runner in the country is almost too much. There are so many great runners. I know them as opponents but many are friends outside of competition. I am honored and I have to accept the Honda Sports Award for Cross Country on behalf of our entire team,” said Saina, Iowa State’s 2012 Female Athlete of the Year.

Saina defeated Hasay and D’Agostino by less than a second at the NCAA Championships, completing the 6-kilometer course in Louisville, KY in 19:27.9 while helping her team to a Top 10 overall finish. A native of Eldoret, Kenya, Saina is also a two-time Big 12 champion in cross country (2011, 2012) and she won the NCAA Midwest Regional this season.