TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the second consecutive season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named Doris Lemngole the Lance Harter National Women’s Athlete of the Year.

A mere two months after finishing fifth at the World Championships (3,000m steeplechase | Kenya), Lemngole used a late-race breakaway to secure her third national title of the 2025 calendar year. The standout junior clocked a meet and course-record time of 18:25.4 to defend her individual championship crown, becoming the first back-to-back winner in the women’s race in 14 years.

Doris Lemngole – USTFCCCA Lance Harter National Women’s Athlete of the Year

• First female student-athlete to be selected for the national honor in back-to-back years since Sheila Reid (Villanova) in 2010 and 2011
• Joins Mercy Chelangat (2020) as the only two Alabama distance runners to earn the award, giving the Tide three total National Women’s Athlete of the Year recognitions
• Is one of four student-athletes from a Southeastern Conference school to ever be named the USTFCCCA National Women’s Athlete of the Year

  • 2024, 2025 – Lemngole, Alabama
  • 2023 – Parker Valby, Florida
  • 2020 – Chelangat, Alabama
  • 2016 – Karissa Schweizer, Missouri

• Awarded first-team All-SEC honors and All-America honors for her championship-winning performances at both the conference and national meets
• The announcement follows Lemngole receiving 2025 SEC Women’s Runner of the Year honor, in addition to her South Region Athlete of the Year recognition by the USTFCCCA