Monisha Lewis Glides to CCAA Track & Field Athlete of the Year Honors
SAN RAMON, Calif. – The comeback is complete for San Francisco State hurdler Monisha Lewis, as the junior from Rancho Cucamonga has earned 2018 CCAA Track & Field Athlete of the Year honors after a seven-year hiatus from collegiate running.
“Monisha has an amazing and unique story,” noted Gators head coach Kendra Reimer. “She was out of the sport for the past seven years while she raised her two children. She relocated her family to the Bay Area to pursue her academic and athletic goals.
“This year has been a huge struggle for her and at times we were not sure if she was going to make it. Monisha pushed through it all and finished the season with a personal best and runner-up finish at the National Championships.”
The 2018 CCAA Newcomer of the Meet at the CCAA Championships earned individual and team titles at the conference meet, competing in the 110 meter hurdles for San Francisco State and running a then-program tying record of 13.53 seconds. She also finished in fourth in the 100 meter dash at the CCAA Championships as the Gators won their first CCAA team track & field title in program history, and just the second-ever league title for the Gators (2010, women’s soccer).
She then broke the program record at the NCAA Championships with a 13.49 in the qualifying heat. In the finals, Lewis ran a 13.41w (2.1) to take second and earn All-America honors, becoming the Gators’ first All-American in the event in program history since 1991.
As a freshman at Boise State in 2010, Lewis, née Davis competed in the sprints and hurdles. Finishing fourth in the 100 meter hurdles at the WAC Championships, Lewis earned the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Division I West Region Prelims where she took 39th.
Lewis and her husband Darrin are parents to two children, son Darrian and daughter Journee.