Allie Zealand was voted 2026 CUSA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's track & field.
Zealand Named CUSA Women’s Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year
6/25/2026 1:00:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty's Allie Zealand was voted the CUSA Women's Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the league's Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR) on Thursday.
The awards, voted on by the conference's 12 FARs, are presented to the top student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport based on academic achievement (GPA), athletic achievement and service.
Zealand becomes the second Liberty sophomore to earn this honor in three years, following teammate Paola Bueno's 2024 CUSA Women's Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year nod.
A Forest, Va., native, Zealand is a civil engineering major with a 3.82 GPA. She has collected numerous academic accolades this year, also including CSC Academic All-District ®, USTFCCCA All-Academic (cross country) and CUSA All-Academic (cross country and track & field).
In competition, Zealand became only the second Lady Flame to earn NCAA Division I honors in cross country (21st place), indoor track & field (fifth in 3K) and outdoor track & field (16th in 1,500) during a single academic year.
The sophomore won all six of her CUSA finals, including cross country, indoor mile, indoor 3K, indoor distance medley relay, outdoor 800 and outdoor 1,500. As a result, Zealand was named CUSA Women's Track Athlete of the Year, CUSA Women's Athlete of the Year (cross country), CUSA Women's Track Performer of the Meet (indoor) and CUSA Women's High Point Scorer of the Meet (indoor).
Zealand set program records at five different distances in 2025-26, including cross country 5K (15:54.7), cross country 6K (19:06.8), indoor mile (4:28.89), indoor 3K (8:44.71) and outdoor 5K (15:26.38). Her indoor 3K effort set the USATF U20 record, while her outdoor 5K clocking eclipsed the Penn Relays standard which had stood since 1984.
The awards, voted on by the conference's 12 FARs, are presented to the top student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport based on academic achievement (GPA), athletic achievement and service.
Zealand becomes the second Liberty sophomore to earn this honor in three years, following teammate Paola Bueno's 2024 CUSA Women's Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year nod.
A Forest, Va., native, Zealand is a civil engineering major with a 3.82 GPA. She has collected numerous academic accolades this year, also including CSC Academic All-District ®, USTFCCCA All-Academic (cross country) and CUSA All-Academic (cross country and track & field).
In competition, Zealand became only the second Lady Flame to earn NCAA Division I honors in cross country (21st place), indoor track & field (fifth in 3K) and outdoor track & field (16th in 1,500) during a single academic year.
The sophomore won all six of her CUSA finals, including cross country, indoor mile, indoor 3K, indoor distance medley relay, outdoor 800 and outdoor 1,500. As a result, Zealand was named CUSA Women's Track Athlete of the Year, CUSA Women's Athlete of the Year (cross country), CUSA Women's Track Performer of the Meet (indoor) and CUSA Women's High Point Scorer of the Meet (indoor).
Zealand set program records at five different distances in 2025-26, including cross country 5K (15:54.7), cross country 6K (19:06.8), indoor mile (4:28.89), indoor 3K (8:44.71) and outdoor 5K (15:26.38). Her indoor 3K effort set the USATF U20 record, while her outdoor 5K clocking eclipsed the Penn Relays standard which had stood since 1984.
Players Mentioned
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