The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Stanford swimmer Katie Ledecky has won the Honda Cup as the nation’s top collegiate female athlete.
Ledecky won five medals, including four golds, and set two world records at last summer’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics. She capped an impressive freshman season at Stanford with five national titles at the NCAA championships.
She became the first NCAA swimmer in 29 years to win individual titles in the 200, 500 and 1,650-yard freestyles, and was a member of Stanford’s American record-setting 400 and 800 free relays.
Ledecky is just the second freshman to win the Honda Cup. She didn’t attend the ceremony on Monday night at the University of Southern California because she is preparing to compete in the U.S. national championships in Indianapolis.
Ledecky beat out finalists Kelsey Plum, who starred in basketball at Washington, and Georgia track and field athlete Kendell Williams. Florida athletes Kelly Barnhill (softball), Alex McMurtry (gymnastics) and Belinda Woolcock (tennis) were also among the 12 finalists.
The top three were selected in voting by nearly 1,000 NCAA member schools. The Honda Cup winner was chosen by the board of directors of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program.
