Coaches
Sean Cleary
HEAD TRACK & FIELD AND CROSS COUNTRY COACH Eighth season/22nd with program Sean Cleary, one of the sport’s most talented and knowledgeable coaches, is in his eighth season at the helm of the West Virginia University cross country and track and field teams after being associated with the program for more than 20 years. With his expertise in mentoring, training, conditioning and recruiting, Cleary has quickly built West Virginia’s programs into a national powerhouse with numerous All-Americans and multiple allconference runners. Coming off some of the most successful seasons in WVU track and field history, Cleary continues to validate his reputation as one of the top coaches in the nation. In 2013, Cleary coached two All-Americans in Jordan Hamric and Kelly Williams. Williams earned the accolade during the indoor season, while Hamric did so at the Outdoor Championships. As per usual, the Mountaineers
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WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
excelled in the classroom under the direction of Cleary. A total of 20 student-athletes were named to the 2013 Academic All-Big 12 Track & Field First and Second Teams. Four freshmen earned Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team recognition, 39 Mountaineers were named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the spring semester and 40 were named to the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll. The 2012 Mountaineer squad sent Chelsea Carrier-Eades and Jessica O’Connell to the NCAA Championships where both earned All-America honors. In addition, 10 athletes qualified for the NCAA East Regional and 18 were sent to both the Big East Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Maintaining a presence in the league scene, WVU placed fifth at the conference championships in which 10 athletes scored points to earn All-Big East honors. An expert spokesman of athletics and academics, Cleary has also set up a training regimen that allowed four athletes to earn Academic All-America accolades. In 2011, the Mountaineers earned their fourth consecutive Top-20 finish in indoor and outdoor track, a year in which 13 All-American performances were turned in by eight athletes, including four from the eight-time All-American Carrier-Eades. At the conference level, eight
WVU athletes were crowned Big East champions and Cleary and his staff were given the Big East Coaching Staff of the Year award. Cleary also was one of eight finalists for the USTFCCCA National Coach of the Year award. In 2009-10, Cleary aided the WVU track and field team to the national spotlight as it finished the season listed at No. 5 on the Terry Crawford Program of the Year Award list, given to the top programs in terms of finishes in track and field, cross country and academics. Carrier-Eades was also named the MidAtlantic Field Athlete of the Year after earning two Big East titles and breaking the school record in the pentathlon at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge on Feb. 5. Cleary helped WVU greats Marie-Louise Asselin, Keri Bland and Clara Grandt earn AllAmerica honors in three sports in the same season (cross country, indoor track and outdoor track). The 2008-09 track team was a testament to his success as it finished the year with four athletes qualifying for national meets and three qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Grandt led the team as she earned her first All-America honor for finishing fourth in the 10,000-meter finals. The West Union, W.Va., native was also named Mid-Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the