The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Isabella Kneeshaw became the first ever Hawaiʻi track and field athlete to earn Big West Freshman of the Year honors after an incredible first collegiate season.
Kneeshaw took home honors after winning the conference title in the 400m while anchoring a pair of Big West-title winning relay teams in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. UC Irvine’s Kailah McKenzie will share the award with Kneeshaw.
On the final day of the Big West Championships, Kneeshaw helped the 4x100m relay team break the school record for the third time this year, running a 45.03 in the final to win. The freshman then closed strong in the 400m to pull away for the title in 54.01 seconds to post the second-fastest time in school history.
Kneeshaw capped off her meet by running the final leg of the 4x400m relay squad that took home the conference title in 3:39.47, coming within 0.37 seconds of the program record. She again ran a strong final closing stretch, pulling away in the final 100 meters once again to make the Rainbow Wahine the first team since 2017 to sweep both relays at the Big West title meet.
For more on Kneeshaw, go to HawaiiAthletics.com
