2012-13 Honda Sports Award for Track & Field – Kimberlyn Duncan
LOS ANGELES, California (June 12, 2013) --- For the second year in a row, LSU’s Kimberlyn Duncan (Katy, Tex.) has received the Honda Sports Award for track and field and becomes a finalist for the 2013 Honda Cup. The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) will present the Honda Cup live on ESPNU, June 24 at the USC Galen Center Founders Room in Los Angeles.
“It’s a great honor to be considered for the Honda Cup, and I just want to thank The Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards for their consideration again this year. I could’ve never imagined coming so far in my four years at LSU. I want to thank my coaches, my teammates, our support staff and, most importantly, my family for their continued support in helping me get to where I am today. My time at LSU has helped prepare me for my next step in life. I’ll continue to work hard to achieve the goals I’ve set for myself after college,” said Duncan.
Duncan made history by winning the 200m title at the NCAA Championships for the third year in a row, the first athlete ever to win this event three times. Her winning time of 22.04 tied the NCAA record in the event and took her team to a fourth place finish overall. Earlier in the winter, she had won the NCAA 200m indoor title for the third straight season. After finishing just shy of making the 2012 Olympic team in the 200m, Duncan went on to win the NACAC U23 Championships and set a meet record in her signature event (22.72). She finished her collegiate career as a 10-time All American and six-time NCAA champion.
“Kimberlyn is a rare talent. You really can’t put into words what she has meant to our program in the four years she’s been with us at LSU. She has accomplished things on the track that no woman in NCAA history has ever done before. That’s a testament to the hard work and dedication she’s shown in reaching this stage of her career, both on and off the track. She comes from a great family and has a strong support system behind her, and we know she’ll continue to achieve great things in the future,” said head coach Dennis Shaver.
The CWSA presents the Honda Sports Award annually to women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. With this honor, Duncan, a sport administration major with an emphasis on sport commerce, becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2013 Honda Cup. She was chosen for the Honda Sports Award by a vote of coaches from 1,000 NCAA member schools as selected by a panel of track and field experts. Finalists included Arizona's Brigetta Barrett, Stanford's Kori Carter, and Kansas' Andrea Geubelle.
Duncan will be honored in Los Angeles alongside an impressive roster of 2013 Honda Cup finalists including Iowa State's Betsy Saina (cross country), Princeton's Katie Reinprecht (field hockey), North Carolina's Crystal Dunn (soccer), Oregon's Alaina Bergsma (volleyball), Georgia's Allison Schmitt (swimming & diving), Delaware's Elena Delle Donne (basketball), Florida's Bridget Sloan (gymnastics), USC's Annie Park (golf), North Carolina’s Kara Cannizzaro (lacrosse), Stanford’s Nicole Gibbs (tennis) and a softball winner yet to be named. The Honda Cup finalists will be joined by the 2013 Honda Inspiration Winner, Purdue’s Andrea “Drey” Mingo, and the NCAA Div. II Athlete of the Year, Ashland University’s Kari Daugherty, and the NCAA Div. III Athlete of the Year, Allyson Fournier of Tufts University.
The Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 37 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 $2.7 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions. Previous Honda Cup winners include Brittney Griner, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Lisa Fernandez, Misty May- Treanor, Maya Moore, and Candace Parker.