| Individual Champions |
| Year |
Champion |
Time |
| 1981 |
Betty Springs, North Carolina State |
16:19.0 |
| 1982 |
Lesley Welch, Virginia |
16:39.7 |
| 1983 |
Betty Springs, North Carolina State |
16:30.7 |
| 1984 |
Cathy Branta, Wisconsin |
16:15.6 |
| 1985 |
Suzie Tuffey, North Carolina State |
16:22.53 |
| 1986 |
Angela Chalmers, Northern Arizona |
16:55.49 |
| 1987 |
Kim Betz, Indiana |
16:10.85 |
| 1988 |
Michelle Dekkers, Indiana |
16:30 |
| 1989 |
Vicki Huber, Villanova |
15:59.86 |
| 1990 |
Sonia O’Sullivan, Villanova |
16:06 |
| 1991 |
Sonia O’Sullivan, Villanova |
16:30.3 |
| 1992 |
Carole Zajac, Villanova |
17:01.9 |
| 1993 |
Carole Zajac, Villanova |
16:40.3 |
| 1994 |
Jen Rhines, Villanova |
16:31.2 |
| 1995 |
Kathy Butler, Wisconsin |
16:51 |
| 1996 |
Amy Skieresz, Arizona |
17:04 |
| 1997 |
Carrie Tollefson, Villanova |
16:29 |
| 1998 |
Katie McGregor, Michigan |
16:47.21 |
| 1999 |
Erica Palmer, Wisconsin |
16:39.5 |
| 2000 |
Kara Grgas-Wheeler, Colorado |
20:30.5 |
| 2001 |
Tara Chaplin, Arizona |
20:24 |
| 2002 |
Shalane Flanagan, North Carolina |
19:36.0 |
| 2003 |
Shalane Flanagan, North Carolina |
19:30.4 |
| 2004 |
Kim Smith, Providence |
20:08.5 |
| 2005 |
Johanna Nilsson, Northern Arizona |
19:33.9 |
| 2006 |
Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech |
20:11.1 |
| 2007 |
Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech |
19:30.9 |
| 2008 |
Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech |
19:28.1 |
| 2009 |
Angela Bizzarri, Illinois |
19:46.8 |
| 2010 |
Sheila Reid, Villanova |
20:06.9 |
| 2011 |
Sheila Reid, Villanova |
19:41.2 |
| 2012 |
Betsy Saina, Iowa State |
19:27.9 |
| 2013 |
Abbey D’Agostino, Dartmouth |
20:00.3 |
| 2014 |
Kate Avery, Iona |
19:31.6 |
| 2015 |
Molly Seidel, Notre Dame |
19:28.6 |
| 2016 |
Karissa Schweizer, Missouri |
19:41.6 |
| 2017 |
Ednah Kurgat, New Mexico |
19:19.5 |
| 2018 |
Dani Jones, Colorado |
19:42.8 |
| 2019 |
Weini Kelati, New Mexico |
19:47.5 |
| 2020 |
Mercy Chelangat, Alabama |
20:01.1 |
| 2021 |
Whittni Orton, BYU |
19:25.4 |
| 2022 |
Katelyn Tuohy, NC State |
19:27.7 |
| 2023 |
Parker Valby, Florida |
18:55.2 |