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The 2013 calendar year is starting off on a great note for University of Colorado senior Shalaya Kipp as she was named the 2012 College Women's Athlete-of-the-Year as selected by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, announced on Tuesday afternoon.

The Salt Lake City, Utah, native had a 2012 to remember, winning the Pac-12 and NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase titles and qualifying for the Olympic Games in London. Kipp became just the fourth current Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØathlete with eligibility remaining to advance to an Olympics. She also had an excellent cross country season, earning her third straight All-American honor this past fall.

Kipp did not lose a single collegiate race in the steeplechase in 2012. In her first race at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford, Kipp clocked the fastest collegiate time of the season (9:43.09) to win the elite section. At the Pac-12 Championships, she became the first Buff to win any individual Pac-12 crown when she crossed the finish line of the steeplechase in 9:57.39. The following day she placed fifth in the 5,000-meter run (16:23.32) to add to the Buffs score.

Kipp dominated the NCAA West Preliminary Championships, winning in 9:58.38 to advance to the NCAA Championships. She easily sailed through the prelims and was tested in the finals, just besting Florida's Genevieve LaCaze at the finish in 9:49.02 to become the third different Buff in seven years to win the title. (Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØhas won the steeplechase crown in five of the last seven years.) Kipp was also honored as the USTFCCCA Female Mountain Region Track Athlete of the Year for her performances.