Runner Shalaya Kipp became the third CU winner in the last five years — and sixth overall — of the College Female Athlete of the Year award presented by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. The CU senior will be among those honored at the CSHOF’s annual banquet April 18 at the Denver Marriott City Center.
Kipp became the first CU athlete to win an individual Pac-12 title when she claimed the 3,000-meter steeplechase championship last year. She then won the NCAA title in the event and went undefeated in the steeplechase during the college season.
Kipp continued in the off-season, finishing third in the steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Trials and running in the London Games, along with CU teammate Emma Coburn. They were just the third and fourth Buff athletes to compete in the Olympics while still having college eligibility remaining.
Last fall Kipp earned All-American status in cross country for the third straight year. She placed 18th in the NCAA Championships.
Previous CU winners of the CSHOF College Female Athlete of the Year award are basketball player Shelley Sheetz (Soc’95) in 1993 and ’95; runner Kara Grgas-Wheeler Goucher (Psych’01) in 2000; and Jenny Barringer Simpson (PolSci’09) in 2008 and ’09.
Photo courtesy CU Athletics
