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Avery earned the honor for the second straight season, becoming just the second female athlete in the award's history to repeat. She was the first female winner of the award in Iona history last year.
"Kate remains an inspiration to the Gael Nation," said Rick Cole Jr., Iona's director of athletics. "Becoming the first Iona female student-athlete to win a national championship is a remarkable accomplishment, and this award is a great honor for a tremendous student-athlete."
"It is a fantastic accomplishment for Kate to be a two-time winner of the MAAC Female Student Athlete of the Year Award," said Iona cross-country/track and field head coach Ricardo Santos. "She has worked extremely hard and made a lot of sacrifices and it is a well-deserved honor for her and for Iona College."
Avery, a junior distance runner from Newton Aycliffe, England, was the 2014 NCAA Cross Country champion, becoming the first female in Iona history to win a national championship. As a result of the win, Avery earned the Honda Sports Award last fall, presented annually by the Collegiate Women Sports Association to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports.
Academically, Avery has a 3.50 grade point average while majoring in marketing. She is a six-time MAAC All-Academic selection, a two-time member of the USTFCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team and a two-time All-Academic Track and Field individual honor recipient.
Avery becomes only the second female to be named student-athlete of the year in back-to-back years, joining Niagara University women’s tennis player Milena Matijevic (2002-03 and 2003-04).
Iona has a rich tradition of representation on the men's side as it has won seven of the last 12 honors. Cross-country and track standouts Mitch Goose (2011-12 and 2012-13), Ryan Sheridan (2009-10), Andrew Ledwith (2008-09), Tim Bayley (2006-07) and Richard Kiplagat (2003-04 and 2004-05) have all been named MAAC Student-Athletes of the Year during the stretch.
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