The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Okolo wins Honda Sport Award for Track & Field
06.16.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Sprint now finalist for prestigious Honda Cup
AUSTIN, Texas – Awards continue to pour in for Texas track star Courtney Okolo. The Collegiate Women Sports Awards announced her as the recipient of the Honda Sport Award for track and field on Thursday. By winning the award for track and field, Okolo is a finalist for the Collegiate Woman of the Year and the prestigious Honda Cup along with the 11 other winners for their respective sports recognized by the CWSA.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 40 years to the top female student-athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics." The winner of the sport awards becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2016 Honda Cup, which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on June 27.
"It's definitely a huge honor. I'm honored and blessed that I've had a great season and they have noticed the accomplishments I had on the track this year," Okolo said. "I'm thankful to God and my family for this award."
Okolo had an impressive season this year both indoors and out as she swept the 400 meters titles at the NCAA Championships. With both those wins it gives her a total of four individual NCAA titles in her event. Okolo also ran anchor leg on the 4x400 meter relay to win the NCAA crown indoors and out in 2016.
Perhaps the highlight of the year for Okolo came at the LSU Alumni Gold in April when Okolo shattered her own collegiate record in the 400 meters. She clocked in at 49.71 seconds to beat her previous best of 50.03. The time also had significance in that she became only the third woman ever to run sub-50 in the month of April.
Okolo owns four of the top 10 times in collegiate history outdoors in the 400 meters and has run on some of the fastest 4x400 relay teams as well. Texas has claimed three of the top 10 times outdoors with Okolo on the relay while four of the seven fastest times indoors include Okolo on the tandem.
The original four nominees for the track and field award were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the USTFCCCA. Okolo was voted the winner by administrators from more than 1,000 NCAA member schools beating out stars Keturah Orji and Kendell Williams of Georgia and Raven Saunders from Ole Miss.
"This is well-deserved for Courtney and a tremendous honor to be recognized at the highest level by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards," said Texas Head Coach Mario Sategna. "From graduating from The University of Texas to all her accolades on and off the track, Courtney has represented our University and team with pride and great character. We could not be more proud of her and the positive impact she has had on Texas Track and Field."
Texas has had other female student-athletes be recognized by Honda and the CWSA in the past. Most recently, former basketball standout Imani Boyette received the Honda Inspiration Award in 2015 recognizing her life's inspirational journey.
"I'm honored to be in the same class as Imani Boyette. Like her, I just want to represent my school with pride, and I'm thankful to The University of Texas for all the opportunities they have provided for me during my time here," Okolo said.
Two Lifetime Longhorns have won the Honda Cup as the Collegiate Woman of the Year. Former swimming star, Olympian and current Assistant Athletics Director Jill Sterkel won in 1981. Basketball standout and current head coach at Northern Colorado Kamie Ethridge won the award in 1986.
Okolo will join the other 11 finalists for the Honda Cup in Los Angeles on June 26-27 with the awards banquet closing the festivities and the winner being announced. The awards banquet will be aired live on CSB Sports Network as the CWSA honors the best female student-athletes in the nation.
Players Mentioned
