MORGANTOWN, W. Va.—Redshirt Junior Ceili McCabe of the West Virginia University cross country team was named the Big 12 Cross Country Women’s Runner of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday.
A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2021 she became the first ever female climber to receive this honor. She is the only WVU runner to have won the award twice. Previously, McCabe was named 2019 Big 12 Women’s Newcomer of the Year.
“The Big 12 have been very competitive this year, with three of the top four finishing in the top seven across the board in the NCAA Cross Country Championships,” Trainer said Sean Clear said. “Ceili did very well in Lubbock on top of the rest of the season. It’s nice to see the conference coaches recognizing her outstanding season.”
The honor was bestowed on McCabe after a remarkable 2022 cross-country season in which she went undefeated through her first four races.
McCabe opened her 2022 season with a 5K at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic and set a new course record at the EP “Tom” Sawyer State Park with a first place finish and a personal best of 16:23.9 (5K). for women on. .
McCabe continued her historic season by finishing first at the Penn State National Open with a 6K time of 20:00.8. The time was good enough for second best in the history of the race and sixth best in the history of the track.
At the beginning of the postseason, she finished first at the Big 12 Championships for the second straight year with a time of 20:08.4. McCabe became the first female climber in program history to win the title in 2021. She received the All-Big 12 Team for her performance.
McCabe finished first at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals with a time of 19:58.3, leading the team to second place, earning the Mountaineers an automatic bid for the NCAA Championships. She earned a spot on the All-Region Team and was named Mid-Atlantic Region Runner of the Year.
She led the team in the NCAA championship, where she finished 24th and became a First Team All-American with a time of 20:03.2.
Additionally, on October 4, McCabe was named Big 12 Runner of the Week. West Virginia and Oklahoma State shared the annual conference awards.
2021 Big 12 Cross Country Awards
Men’s Runner of the Year: Alex Maier, State of Oklahoma
Runner of the Year: Ceili McCabeWest Virginia
Men Newcomer of the Year: Fouad Messaoudi, Oklahoma State
Women’s Newcomer of the Year: Natalie Cook, State of Oklahoma
Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year: Dave Smith, State of Oklahoma
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