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It's no surprise the moment that finds itself on the top of our countdown of five – the historic day Charlotte Taylor became the first woman in school history to achieve a national title stands as the moment of 2016-17.

"Charlotte's win was a huge milestone for a program and for women in sport at our university," reflected USF head coach Helen Lehman-Winters. "Before the meet, we spent very little time talking about winning as we knew she wanted to win and we knew she was capable of it. But we also knew that championships are really hard to win and a lot of things have to happen some of which you have control over and some of which you don't."

Entering the day with the second-fastest 10K on the season, Taylor picked the best time imaginable to win her first race of the year, overpowering her competition in the final lap of the race as she crossed the line in 32:38.57 to earn the NCAA crown.

Taylor moved up to the front pack from the outset and eased up to second place as she rode the shoulder of New Mexico's Alice Wright at the midpoint of the race, with Kansas athlete Sharon Lokedi joined the top trio. Lokedi twice challenged to pass up Taylor but the Don held her resolve to remain in second. With one lap left in the race, Taylor made her move to take the lead from Wright and outraced the Lobo in the final stretch to cross the line nearly four seconds ahead of her closest competitor.

"Charlotte was so patient and executed perfectly," Lehman-Winters said. "She could have taken the lead much earlier in the race as she was feeling so good, but she was so disciplined and then so decisive when she made her move the last 400. I will never forget the look of joy and disbelief in her face and then the smile on her face as she ran up into the stands on her victory lap. Her win will have lasting impact in our team as she has made everyone aspire to a higher level and perhaps her win has made everyone a believer."

"Charlotte winning the NCAA title was such a special moment for our program and university and it couldn't have happened to a better person," added USF assistant coach Benji Wetli. "Her performance showed the rest of the NCAA what USF athletes are capable of and reaffirmed the belief our athletes have of what they can accomplish."

The summer season is just getting started for Taylor, as she was chosen to compete for Great Britain at the 2017 IAAF World Championships as well as the 2017 World University Games, both being held in August.

Missed the week of countdown moments? Catch up here:
No. 5 – USF defeats Pepperdine for the First time in program history
No. 4 – Alex Short becomes the second Don to claim WCC individual crown
No. 3 – USF Dons men's soccer takes down defending champion Stanford
No. 2 – USF cross country takes sixth at the 2016 NCAA Championships