Kassie Parker named Athlete of Year finalist
Loras College women's cross country junior Kassie Parker's achievements have continued to gain national recognition as the recent NCAA Division III National Champion has been selected as the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) DIII Honda Athlete of the Year Finalist for cross country.
Parker is a 2017 graduate of Clayton Ridge High School and is the daughter of Jane Parker of Guttenberg.
She is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DIII Honda Athlete of the Year which will be voted on at the end of the academic year by national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the CWSA program, now in its 46th year.
"I'm very excited and feel proud to be selected as a finalist for this award. I never would have thought to be selected for such an honorable award. I feel like the season has only shown the start of the things I can do and I'm excited about my running as I have indoor and outdoor track to look forward to," said Parker.
"I want to thank my coaches and teammates for believing in me and supporting me. Being a finalist shows all the hard work I've put in and being recognized for, but still encourages me to work harder."
The Guttenberg native won the women's program's first national title in Louisville, Ky. on Nov. 20 in record-setting time (20:11.1). Her time was 0.2 seconds off her 6,000-meter school record and put a 17-second gap on the second-place finisher. Parker became a three-time cross country All-American with the win and now owns two national titles (2019 outdoor track and field 10,000-meter run), both of which are the program's firsts. Parker was the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National and Regional Athlete of the Year in addition to taking the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) title and Most Valuable Performer honors.
The 2021 season saw Parker break the school record in the 6,000-meter run twice and improve on her own 5,000-meter record by 15 seconds. She was a four-time A-R-C Athlete of the Week honoree and collected National Athlete of the Week awards twice during the fall. Winning six of her seven races in convincing fashion, her only loss this fall was to five Division I University of Notre Dame runners at the National Catholic Championship in September.
Parker becomes Loras' second CWSA Athlete of the Year finalist after Gabrielle (Noland) Dreska '19 was the track and field finalist following her dominant performance at the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championship where she led the team to the college's first team national title.
All Honda Sports nominees from DIII and DII become a finalist for the prestigious 2022 Honda Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented in a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on June 27, 2022, in downtown Los Angeles. The Honda Award finalists are recognized in 11 DIII and DII NCAA-sanctioned sports; cross country, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field.
