Dr. Katie Nelson was a four-year women's cross country and track and field team member at the University of Montevallo. The Brewton, Alabama, native wasted no time etching her name into the Montevallo history books. As a freshman in 2014, Nelson was named the Peach Belt Runner of the Year, won the Peach Belt Conference Cross Country Individual Championship title, set school records in the 5K and 6K along the way and led Montevallo to a Peach Belt Conference Championship and the first NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship in program history. Nelson's first year was only the beginning. She would defend her PBC Runner of the Year title in 2015 and finish runner-up individually while leading Montevallo to its second consecutive PBC Championship title. Nelson then paced Montevallo to back-to-back NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships with a third-place finish. As a junior, Nelson again led the Falcons on their quest to three-peat as conference and region champions. Nelson was named the PBC Runner of the Year for the third straight year and finished runner-up in the 2016 PBC Championships behind 2023 Hall of Fame Honoree Cheyenne Thompson as Montevallo earned its third consecutive PBC Championship. Montevallo completed the three-peat in the 2016 region championship on their home course, while Nelson posted a third-place finish. To cap off 2016, Nelson placed 79th nationally and led Montevallo to a 23rd-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships. In 2017, Montevallo moved to the Gulf South Conference. As a senior, Nelson picked up where she left off, winning the GSC Cross Country Championship title individually and earning her fourth consecutive Runner of the Year Honor. Nelson found success on the track as well during her time at Montevallo. In 2016, she won the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters in the PBC Track and Field Championships and defended both titles in 2017. Accolades were plentiful for Nelson by the time she left Montevallo as she was a four-time Margaret Blalock Award recipient, three-time Peach Belt Conference Runner of the Year, Gulf South Conference Runner of the Year, three-time USTFCCA All-Southeast Region team selection, one-time USTFCCA All-South Region team selection, one-time PBC individual Cross Country Champion, one-time GSC individual Cross Country Champion, four-time USTFCCA All-Academic honoree, PBC Gold Scholar, two-time PBC Bronze Scholar, three-time PBC Honor Roll selection, GSC Honor Roll selection, GSC Top Ten selection and GSC All-Decade Team selection. In addition, Nelson currently holds the school record in the 5,000 meters, 5K and 6K. She also has four of the top-10 5K times and three of the top-10 6K times. Nelson graduated from Montevallo in 2018 with a degree in biochemistry. Â
