Calli Doan tabbed ASUN Female Student-Athlete of the Year

A week before she takes the track at the 2023 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Calli Doan has been named Liberty’s first-ever ASUN Conference Female Student-Athlete of the Year.

Announced Thursday evening, the award was voted upon by various groups including the conference members’ faculty athletic representatives, senior woman administrators, and ASUN Conference office staff.

A native of Apex, N.C., Doan excelled in the classroom and in competition throughout 2022-23. She maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her graduate studies in human performance, while collecting numerous academic honors.

Doan was named ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the year for women’s cross country and outdoor track & field, while earning ASUN All-Academic Team recognition for all three of her sports (cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field).

She earned a spot on the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team for cross country and was included on the CSC Academic All-District® team for the fourth time in her career.

Doan excelled during her final collegiate cross country season, claiming the ASUN individual title (meet-record 5K time of 16:21.0) and earning All-Southeast Region honors (10^th place) for the second year in a row. She became the first five-time All-ASUN runner in meet history and lowered the Liberty women’s cross country 5K record to 16:15.1 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 30.

She was named both Most Valuable Female Performer and Women’s Most Outstanding Track Performer at the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships after racking up a meet-high 28 points for the team champion Lady Flames. Doan captured the women’s 3K (Liberty and meet-record 9:24.67) and 5K titles, while finishing second in the mile final. Earlier in the season, she clocked a time of 4:36.52 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational (Feb. 10), breaking a program record which had stood since 2002.

Doan’s outdoor track & field season saw her contribute 15 points to Liberty’s ASUN team title. She claimed her second career ASUN women’s steeplechase crown and came in fourth in the 1,500. Doan lowered her own program steeplechase standard to 9:57.15 at the Stanford Invitational (March 31) and clocked an ASUN all-time record 15:51.38 5K at the Wake Forest Invitational on April 21.

Most recently, Doan became Liberty’s first-ever women’s steeplechase qualifier to the 2023 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She will compete in the semifinals on June 8 at 9:02 p.m. Eastern at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The final is slated for 9:24 p.m. Eastern on June 10.

Doan has also been active in a number of community service projects this past year, including baking for the prison ministry and “egging” houses in the community for Easter. She serves as a youth group leader at Living Word Baptist Church and serves with her church’s hospitality group each Sunday. Doan volunteered at the Virginia 10 Miler and high school indoor track & field meets. She also assisted with a canned food drive and a campaign to buy school supplies for local teachers.