The 2013 NCAA Champion Abbey D'Agostino of Dartmouth 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 and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. With this honor, D'Agostino becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2014 Honda Cup. D'Agostino was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Kate Avery (Iona), Emma Bates (Boise State) and Aisling Cuffe (Stanford).

"It is quite the honor to be recognized as the cross-country collegiate athlete of the year, given the incredible talent and dedication of many other student-athletes who are equally as deserving," said D'Agostino.

"I am excited that Abbey has continued to be recognized for her outstanding achievements this season,” stated Dartmouth head coach Mark Coogan. “Recognition like this is the culmination of an incredible year where Abbey was rarely tested, demonstrating her talent and strong work ethic that would eventually lead her to the national title. However, it was also those things that made her a great teammate and helped Dartmouth return to national prominence. Abbey was always the one to put her team first or say that any individual win was better when she was surrounded by fellow Big Green runners, something I think puts her in an elite class of athlete and teammate."

Named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Woman's National Cross Country Athlete of the Year, D'Agostino was a finalist the last two seasons for the Honda Award for Cross Country before capturing the title this fall.

The Topsfield, Mass., native was a perfect 6-for-6 in races this fall and was the first Ivy League student-athlete on either the men's or women's side to win the NCAA individual title. She is a five-time national champion and 10-time All-American in both cross country and track & field.

The CWSA presents the Honda Sports Award annually to top women student-athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. The 2014 awards season opens this fall with winners being selected from the sports of cross country, field hockey, soccer and volleyball. Honda Sports award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year and all Honda Sports award winners become a finalist for the prestigious 2014 Honda Cup award presented in June.

Past Honda Sports award winners for Cross Country include three-time winner Sally Kipyego (2007-09) of Texas Tech, Villanova's Vicki Huber (1990) who went on to become the only cross country runner to receive the prestigious Honda Cup and famed Olympian Joan Benoit (1980) of Bowdoin College.

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.