Sheila Reid Wins Track & Field's 2011 Honda Sports Award

Villanova's Reid named 2011 Honda Sports Award winner in track and field
June 17, 2011

By Tim Rohan
Inquirer Staff Writer

Villanova's Shelia Reid has the phrase "first-ever" next to her name quite often. So Thursday's news might not have been that surprising.

Reid was voted the 2011 Honda Sports Award winner in track and field. That came in addition to the cross-country award she had previously received - an impressive haul for any runner.

It's a feat, winning both the track and field and cross-country Honda Awards, that hasn't been accomplished by a woman since Amy Skieresz won both 13 years ago for the University of Arizona.

Reid's senior year at Villanova will surely leave a lasting impression on the Wildcats.

She was an NCAA outdoor champion in the 1,500- and 5,000-meter races, becoming the first woman in history to win both events during the same year. During the indoor season, she was a national champion in the distance medley. Her resumé reads: 12-time Big East champion, nine-time All-American, and NCAA individual cross-country titlist.

"I have . . . spoken often this year about the incredible women who have been stars on the track at Villanova in the past," Reid said in a statement. "For me to win two Honda Sports Awards this year maybe means that my name can now be etched alongside all of these great women that came before me."

A native of Newmarket, Ontario, Reid is also a standout student. Studying English at Villanova, she has a 3.40 grade-point average and was a four-time Big East Academic All-Star.

The Honda awards are given based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program. One honor is given to the nation's top collegiate female athlete in each of the NCAA's 12 sanctioned sports.

Being a winner gives Reid the chance to be named the collegiate female athlete of the year. The winner will receive the Honda-Broderick Cup during a ceremony in New York on June 27.

Other notable Honda Sports Award recipients this year include UConn women's basketball player Maya Moore; Penn State's Blair Brown for volleyball; and Maryland's Katie O'Donnell, a graduate of Wissahickon High School, for field hockey.