Alabama’s Doris Lemngole has been named the winner of the 2024 Honda Sport Award for Cross Country, according to an announcement by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA). The award is given each year to top female athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports.
Lemngole, who was also a finalist as a freshman in 2023, secured the honor after claiming the individual national title at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships. She had previously finished as runner-up in 2023. Lemngole is from West Pokot County, Kenya, and was also recognized as the 2024 National Women’s Athlete of the Year for Cross Country by USTFCCCA.
“It is an honor to receive this award from the CWSA and Honda; it means a lot to me. I want to give a special shout out to my coaches, my teammates and everyone who has supported and believed in me. Our team’s support staff and the University of Alabama have also played a big role in helping me reach this success. Coming to Alabama has been a dream come true, and I am very grateful for all of the academic support I have received, in addition to the athletic support. I’m thankful for this honor, and I am just looking forward to another great season with my team, my coaches and my teammates,” Lemngole said.
Alabama head coach Dan Waters commented on her achievement: “We are all extremely proud of Doris. She represents the best of Alabama, and we are so excited for her to receive the Honda Sport Award for Cross Country. This is an award that represents the fierce and humble drive, and devoted dedication and tireless hard work that Doris uses to attack everything she does in life. Doris genuinely embodies the Honda Award’s core values as a student, as an athlete and as a person, most importantly. We are very proud to have now had two Honda Sport Award winners in our program’s history, but I’m more proud of what this means for Doris.”
In addition to her national title win at the NCAA championships, Lemngole earned several honors during 2024 including gold at both SEC Cross Country Championships and recognition as USTFCCCA South Regional Women’s Athlete of the Year. She was also named SEC Cross Country Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year along with earning All-American status both athletically and academically.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by CWSA for nearly five decades based on votes from administrators representing over 1,000 NCAA member schools nationwide. As recipient of this year’s cross country award, Lemngole becomes eligible for consideration as Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year—a distinction awarded with presentation of The Honda Cup during a live CBS Sports Network broadcast scheduled for June.
Lemngole joins other Alabama athletes who have previously won Honda Sport Awards across various sports such as Montana Fouts (softball), Mercy Chelangat (cross country), Emma Talley (golf), Kim Jacob (gymnastics), among others.
