Photo by: Angela Fieno
Former Falcon Mahala Norris Honored by Sportswomen of Colorado
3/13/2022 8:00:00 PM | Track and Field
Norris was named the Sportswomen of Colorado award winner in College Outdoor Track and Field.
DENVER, Colo. – Former Air Force standout Mahala Norris was named the 2022 Sportswomen of Colorado award winner in College Outdoor Track, the Denver-based organization announced this evening (March 13) during its annual awards banquet. Norris, the 2021 NCAA steeplechase champion, was one of 46 female athletes across 20 sports to be honored for their sport-specific achievements during the last year.
This marks the fourth time a member of the Air Force women's team received a Sportswomen of Colorado Award in Track and Field, as Norris joined Dana Pounds (2006), the 2008 throwers, and Maria Mettler (2021).
Norris, 2020-21 Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year, claimed the Academy's fourth NCAA Division I championship title on June 12, when she used a furious kick in the final few meters to win the 3000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Racing to a career-best time of 9:31.79 in the win, she accounted for the sixth-fastest time in collegiate history, the second-fastest time in Mountain West history and a mark that improved her own Academy Record for the fourth time in five meets.
A native of Roseburg, Ore., Norris had a record-breaking senior season that covered both cross country and track. In a four-month span, Norris accounted for the NCAA title in the 3000-meter steeplechase, All-America honors in indoor track (fourth in the 5000-meter run), cross country (fourth) and outdoor track (first in the steeplechase), Mountain West titles in cross country, the steeplechase and 5000-meter run – with the latter two coming from MW Championship Meet Record performances, and an appearance in the steeplechase finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
The unparalleled success of 2021 began in early March – at the start of the delayed cross country season, when she became the first Academy female to win a Mountain West title in cross country. Posting the fourth-fastest championship 6K in Mountain West history (19:57.7), Norris crossed the finish line nearly five seconds ahead of the field.
That victory kicked off a 10-day span that saw Norris collect All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and NCAA Cross Country Championships – with those two races taking place in different states, just three days apart. Norris registered the third-fastest indoor 5000-meter time in Academy history (15:51.73) to finish fourth and garner first-team All-America status on the track in Fayetteville, Ark., before earning the same placement following a 6K time of 20:11.8 on the cross country course in Stillwater, Okla. – the best finish of any runner that attempted the indoor/cross country double.
Norris, who earned Athlete of the Year honors from both the Mountain West and USTFCCCA Mountain Region for her cross country success, was also named a Honda Award (Cross Country) finalist.
Her success continued into the outdoor season, where she tallied Championship Meet Record times to win both the 3000-meter steeplechase (then-Academy Record 9:44.10) and 5000-meter run (15:39.13 – the second-fastest time in Academy history) at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships. Norris, who was named the MW Outstanding Female Performer for her two conference titles, was ranked among the nation's Top 10 in the steeplechase and Top 20 in the 5000-meter run following the conference meet, and eventually added the Mountain West Outdoor Female Athlete of the Year to her collection of awards.
The Air Force Academy's Most Valuable Female Athlete in 2021, Norris rewrote the Academy Record in the steeplechase four times during her first five competitions – deleting more than 40 seconds from the previous standard over that stretch – while also climbing up the conference and NCAA lists. In addition to her success in the steeplechase, she finished her career with an Academy Record in the mile (4:49.49a) and top-five Air Force all-time marks in the outdoor 5000-meter run (No. 2, 15:39.13), 1500-meter run (No. 2, 4:15.98), indoor 5000-meter run (No. 3, 15:51.73) and 3000-meter run (No. 5, 9:34.50a).
This marks the fourth time a member of the Air Force women's team received a Sportswomen of Colorado Award in Track and Field, as Norris joined Dana Pounds (2006), the 2008 throwers, and Maria Mettler (2021).
Norris, 2020-21 Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year, claimed the Academy's fourth NCAA Division I championship title on June 12, when she used a furious kick in the final few meters to win the 3000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Racing to a career-best time of 9:31.79 in the win, she accounted for the sixth-fastest time in collegiate history, the second-fastest time in Mountain West history and a mark that improved her own Academy Record for the fourth time in five meets.
A native of Roseburg, Ore., Norris had a record-breaking senior season that covered both cross country and track. In a four-month span, Norris accounted for the NCAA title in the 3000-meter steeplechase, All-America honors in indoor track (fourth in the 5000-meter run), cross country (fourth) and outdoor track (first in the steeplechase), Mountain West titles in cross country, the steeplechase and 5000-meter run – with the latter two coming from MW Championship Meet Record performances, and an appearance in the steeplechase finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
The unparalleled success of 2021 began in early March – at the start of the delayed cross country season, when she became the first Academy female to win a Mountain West title in cross country. Posting the fourth-fastest championship 6K in Mountain West history (19:57.7), Norris crossed the finish line nearly five seconds ahead of the field.
That victory kicked off a 10-day span that saw Norris collect All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and NCAA Cross Country Championships – with those two races taking place in different states, just three days apart. Norris registered the third-fastest indoor 5000-meter time in Academy history (15:51.73) to finish fourth and garner first-team All-America status on the track in Fayetteville, Ark., before earning the same placement following a 6K time of 20:11.8 on the cross country course in Stillwater, Okla. – the best finish of any runner that attempted the indoor/cross country double.
Norris, who earned Athlete of the Year honors from both the Mountain West and USTFCCCA Mountain Region for her cross country success, was also named a Honda Award (Cross Country) finalist.
Her success continued into the outdoor season, where she tallied Championship Meet Record times to win both the 3000-meter steeplechase (then-Academy Record 9:44.10) and 5000-meter run (15:39.13 – the second-fastest time in Academy history) at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships. Norris, who was named the MW Outstanding Female Performer for her two conference titles, was ranked among the nation's Top 10 in the steeplechase and Top 20 in the 5000-meter run following the conference meet, and eventually added the Mountain West Outdoor Female Athlete of the Year to her collection of awards.
The Air Force Academy's Most Valuable Female Athlete in 2021, Norris rewrote the Academy Record in the steeplechase four times during her first five competitions – deleting more than 40 seconds from the previous standard over that stretch – while also climbing up the conference and NCAA lists. In addition to her success in the steeplechase, she finished her career with an Academy Record in the mile (4:49.49a) and top-five Air Force all-time marks in the outdoor 5000-meter run (No. 2, 15:39.13), 1500-meter run (No. 2, 4:15.98), indoor 5000-meter run (No. 3, 15:51.73) and 3000-meter run (No. 5, 9:34.50a).
Players Mentioned
1500m / 5000m
/ Track and Field
800m / 1500m
/ Track and FieldTexas Tanner Pre Indoor Nationals Interview
Monday, March 09
Ryan Cole Interview - March 3rd, 2026
Tuesday, March 03
Ryan Cole Interview - February 24th, 2026
Tuesday, February 24
Ryan Cole Interview - August 26th, 2025
Tuesday, August 26
