Northern State University Athletics

Sasha (Hovind) Gallagher graduated from Northern State University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in Elementary Education and minors in Early Childhood Education, Coaching, and PreK-12 Reading. She was an 11-time All-American in track and field and cross country for the Wolves from 2014-17, closing out her career as the most decorated distance runner in school history.
 
In addition to her All-American performances, Gallagher was a 2-time NSIC Champion in the indoor 5000m (2016) and outdoor 10,000m (2018) and 8-time NSIC All-Conference performer in track and field and 2014 Conference Champion and 3-time NSIC All-Conference performer in cross country. She earned All-American accolades in cross country in 2014, finishing in 15^th, 2015, finishing in 13^th, and 2017, finishing tenth. On the track, Gallagher was an All-American in 2015 taking seventh in the 5000m and eighth in the 10,000m at the outdoor championships; in 2016 placing eighth in the 5000m at the indoor championships, and fourth in the 10,000m and ninth in the 5000m at the outdoor championships; in 2017 taking 12^th in the 5000m at the indoor championships; and in 2018 placing sixth in the 10,000m and seventh in the 5000m at the outdoor championships.
 
Gallagher continues to hold school records in the indoor 3000m, indoor 5000m, outdoor 5000m, and outdoor 10,000m. She was a COSIDA Academic All-American® in 2016 and 2018, earning first team accolades each season. Gallagher earned multiple NSIC All-Academic honors in her career, in addition to the 2017-18 Myles Brand Award, 2017 Indoor Track and Field Elite 18 Award, and 2018 Cross Country Elite 18 Award. In addition, she was the 2017 recipient of the Northern State Hildred Wolfe Award and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award: the highest academic and athletic achievements for both the institution and league.
 
Sasha and her husband, Jacob, currently reside in Coralville, Iowa with their 2-year-old son Apollo. Professionally, she has been teaching preschool for five years and her husband is currently a postdoctoral research scholar.