It has been a season full of records, awards and many honors for distance runner Lisa Koll, year three veterinary medicine.

Perhaps one of the greatest honors came Thursday in the form of the Honda Sports Award as the nation’s best female track and field athlete.

While the honor may not have come as a surprise for many, it did come as a pleasant surprise for the very humble Fort Dodge native.

“[I was] very surprised,” Koll said. “There are so many talented women in NCAA Track and Field right now and to be recognized as the top female in the sport currently is beyond my mind. I mean those are the type of people I’ve looked up to ever since I got into college. So to be in their shoes is really incredible.”

Coach Corey Ihmels believed the honor was the ultimate way of showing how much hard work and dedication Koll put into her time at Iowa State.

“Obviously it’s a very prestigious award, and we’re excited about her being able to achieve that,” Ihmels said. “I just think it speaks volumes about someone who came from pretty humble beginnings and worked really hard toward a goal and has achieved that goal now. [The award] is kind of the fruits of her labor.”

But for Koll, the highest honor is not just the fact the award recognizes her individual statistics, but that it represents the strides ISU track and field has made over the years.

“I think [the award] means a lot for Iowa State,” Koll said. “I think it means a lot for people who are looking for a place where they can go and become successful. I come from a place where I wasn’t highly recruited out of high school and I wasn’t that talented in high school. Then I came to college and worked hard. I just stayed dedicated and followed the plan and it shows that Iowa State is a place you can go and see continued success.”

Koll will be one of eight Cyclones competing in next week’s NCAA Championship events.

She will be competing in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter distance runs.