The University of Mississippi Athletics
McKenzie Long Named Honda Award Finalist for Track & Field
6/10/2024 | Track and Field
OXFORD, Miss. – Days after completing one of the best single-day performances in collegiate track & field history, three-time NCAA Champion McKenzie Long has been named one of four finalists for the Class of 2024 Honda Sport Award for Track & Field, as announced by The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) on Monday afternoon.
Long was chosen as a finalist alongside fellow national champions and Bowerman Watch List members Maia Ramsden of Harvard, Jaida Ross of Oregon, and Parker Valby of Florida.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 48 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and signifies the best of the best in collegiate athletics. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2024 Honda Cup, which will be presented during a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Mon., June 24, 2024, at 7 p.m. ET, from its new home in New York City.
Just two days ago, Long won three national titles in a mere 90 minutes, putting Ole Miss track & field's sprints group on the map – and capturing the hearts and minds of the nation with the story of her perseverance following her mother's death this past indoor season.
Long ran the second leg on Ole Miss' winning 4x100-meter relay team – the first relay title, men or women, in Ole Miss history outdoors – and followed that up with a historic sweep across the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes within the following hour and a half. Her performances helped push Ole Miss to a fifth-place showing, tying the overall program record at an NCAA meet – her fourth top-25 team finish she has been a part of as a Rebel in as many tries.
She is one of 15 women in NCAA Division I history to sweep the 100 and the 200, and one of just six to add on a victory in the 4x100-meter relay. Her victories in the 100 and 200 were the first by any Rebel outdoors, men or women, in events shorter than 800 meters. And among Ole Miss women, her wins were the first indoors or outdoors in events shorter than the 1500-meter or mile.
Long's winning time in the 200-meter dash of 21.83 (+1.0) extended her reign as the world leader for 2024, and it put her No. 2 in collegiate history and into a tie for both No. 10 in U.S. history and No. 24 in world history. She is the lone woman in collegiate history with multiple wind-legal sub-22 times in the 200, and she just missed breaking the collegiate record of 21.80 (+1.3) run by Kentucky's Abby Steiner in 2022. Worldwide this season, Long owns each of the three fastest wind-legal 200-meter times run by women, as well as four of the top-seven.
Her semifinal time in the 100-meter of 10.91 (+0.0) ranks No. 6 both in collegiate history and on the world list for 2024, making her the lone runner in the world this year with a sub-11 time in the 100 and a sub-22 time in the 200. And along with relay teammates Akilah Lewis, Gabrielle Matthews and Jahniya Bowers, is part of the No. 5 collegiate relay all time with their semifinal performance of 42.22.
In just two seasons at Ole Miss, Long ends her career as one of the best Rebels of all time as a three-time NCAA Champion, two-time NCAA runner-up, eight-time All-American (seven First-Team), nine-time NCAA qualifier (all at Ole Miss), two-time SEC Champion, six-time SEC medalist and a two-time Bowerman Award Watch List member with six school records, 45.5 career NCAA points and 47.5 career SEC points scored.
Long also was the 2024 SEC Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and is working toward her second master's degree – this time in public health – after completing her previous master's in criminal justice at Ole Miss in 2023 and her bachelor's in psychology and communications at NC State in 2022.
The track & field finalists were determined by a panel of experts from the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Honda Sport award winner for track & field will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
The CWSA, entering its 48th year, has honored the nation's top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its partnership in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.4 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs.
Long was chosen as a finalist alongside fellow national champions and Bowerman Watch List members Maia Ramsden of Harvard, Jaida Ross of Oregon, and Parker Valby of Florida.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 48 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and signifies the best of the best in collegiate athletics. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2024 Honda Cup, which will be presented during a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Mon., June 24, 2024, at 7 p.m. ET, from its new home in New York City.
Just two days ago, Long won three national titles in a mere 90 minutes, putting Ole Miss track & field's sprints group on the map – and capturing the hearts and minds of the nation with the story of her perseverance following her mother's death this past indoor season.
Long ran the second leg on Ole Miss' winning 4x100-meter relay team – the first relay title, men or women, in Ole Miss history outdoors – and followed that up with a historic sweep across the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes within the following hour and a half. Her performances helped push Ole Miss to a fifth-place showing, tying the overall program record at an NCAA meet – her fourth top-25 team finish she has been a part of as a Rebel in as many tries.
She is one of 15 women in NCAA Division I history to sweep the 100 and the 200, and one of just six to add on a victory in the 4x100-meter relay. Her victories in the 100 and 200 were the first by any Rebel outdoors, men or women, in events shorter than 800 meters. And among Ole Miss women, her wins were the first indoors or outdoors in events shorter than the 1500-meter or mile.
Long's winning time in the 200-meter dash of 21.83 (+1.0) extended her reign as the world leader for 2024, and it put her No. 2 in collegiate history and into a tie for both No. 10 in U.S. history and No. 24 in world history. She is the lone woman in collegiate history with multiple wind-legal sub-22 times in the 200, and she just missed breaking the collegiate record of 21.80 (+1.3) run by Kentucky's Abby Steiner in 2022. Worldwide this season, Long owns each of the three fastest wind-legal 200-meter times run by women, as well as four of the top-seven.
Her semifinal time in the 100-meter of 10.91 (+0.0) ranks No. 6 both in collegiate history and on the world list for 2024, making her the lone runner in the world this year with a sub-11 time in the 100 and a sub-22 time in the 200. And along with relay teammates Akilah Lewis, Gabrielle Matthews and Jahniya Bowers, is part of the No. 5 collegiate relay all time with their semifinal performance of 42.22.
In just two seasons at Ole Miss, Long ends her career as one of the best Rebels of all time as a three-time NCAA Champion, two-time NCAA runner-up, eight-time All-American (seven First-Team), nine-time NCAA qualifier (all at Ole Miss), two-time SEC Champion, six-time SEC medalist and a two-time Bowerman Award Watch List member with six school records, 45.5 career NCAA points and 47.5 career SEC points scored.
Long also was the 2024 SEC Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and is working toward her second master's degree – this time in public health – after completing her previous master's in criminal justice at Ole Miss in 2023 and her bachelor's in psychology and communications at NC State in 2022.
The track & field finalists were determined by a panel of experts from the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Honda Sport award winner for track & field will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
The CWSA, entering its 48th year, has honored the nation's top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its partnership in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.4 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs.
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