2016 WVU Cross Country Guide

B

CROSS COUNTRY

TABLE OF CONTENTS In The Spotlight ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 2

2016 PREVIEW

A Championship Program ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 3

A look at 2016 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 46

All-Americans �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4

Q&A With Coach Sean Cleary ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 49

Big 12 Conference ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 6

Schedule and Host Information �������������������������������������������������������������������� 51

Athletic Training ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 8 Strength and Conditioning ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 10

2015 REVIEW

Community Service �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 11

A Look Back at 2015 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 52

Student- Athlete Support ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 12

2015 Results ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 53

Campus Life �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 14

Meet-by-Meet Breakdown ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 54

Mountaineer Excellence �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 18

Individual Times �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 55 Accolades ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 55

COACHING STAFF Sean Cleary �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 24

RECORD BOOK

Erin O’Reilly �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 28

NCAA Honors ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 56

Support Staff ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 28

Conference Honors ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 57 All-Americans ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 61

MOUNTAINEER PROFILE

Managing Editor Joe Swan Editor/Writer Samantha Strejeck Page Layout/Design Bob Slater, Provations Group Contributors: Lisa Ammons, John Antonik, Nick Arthur, Ashley Bailey, Grant Dovey, Chris Pharis, Michael Fragale, Charlie Healy, Russell Luna, Maggie Matella, Shannon McNamara, Bryan Messerly, Mike Montoro, Amy Prunty, and Cheryl Wire.

Contributing Photographers: All-Pro Photography by Dale Sparks, Ricky Bassman, Nick Arthur, M.G. Ellis, Dan Friend, Erin Irwin, E.J. Linger, Tyson Murray, Brian Persinger, Steve Prunty, Megan Raymond, Niesha Shafer, Samantha Strejeck, Raymond Thompson, Cheryl Treworgy, Wesley Winterink, WVU Athletic Communications Archives, WVU Photo Services. © 2016 West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics West Virginia University is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action institution. The indicia depicted are registered trademarks of West Virginia University.

2016 Rosters ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 30

General Information

Jillian Forsey �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 32

President E. Gordon Gee �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 66

Peyton Hampson ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 33

Director of Athletic Shane Lyons �������������������������������������������������������������������� 67

Brianna Kerekes �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 34

Senior Staff/Head Coaches ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 68

Megan Yuan �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 35

Media Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Amy Cashin �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 36

Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Alyssa Diehl �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 37

WVU Athletic Communication Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Maggie Drazba ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 38

Athletic Facilities �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 72

Brynn Harshbarger ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 39 Rebecca Wendt ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 40 Anna French �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 41 Olivia Hill �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 42 Candace Jones ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 43 Peyton Panger ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 44 Andrea Pettit �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 45 Antigone Archer �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 46 Abby Colbert �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 46 Sarah Wills ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 46

West Virginia University is on probation until February 17, 2017, for violations involving impermissible telephone and text communications that occurred in a number of our athletics programs. Level II violations occurred in the following sports programs: women’s gymnastics, football, women’s basketball and women’s soccer. On a smaller scale, 10 other sport programs, including baseball, men’s basketball, women’s diving, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, men’s swimming, women’s tennis, women’s track and field, women’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling and programs, also engaged in impermissible text and telephone-related activity. The penalties prescribed in this case, which included recruiting communication restrictions, off-campus recruiting restrictions and the loss of a scholarship in the sport of football, were served in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years. Additional information can be found at the following link: http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/West%20Virginia%20Public%20Inf%20Decision.pdf

Reproduction of any material appearing herein is prohibited without approval of the West Virginia University Intercollegiate Athletics.

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

1

IN THE SPOTLIGHT Choosing to become a Mountaineer student-athlete is special.

Without a professional sports team in the state, folks across the state and throughout the region love West Virginia University athletics.

Mountaineers have the unique opportunity to represent themselves, their teammates and their university to news media, alumni, friends, family and the general public. Your interaction with these groups is also part of your educational process.

If you take advantage of these opportunities, it can have a positive effect, not only on your career as a student-athlete at West Virginia, but also on your life after you have donned the Old Gold and Blue.

2

CROSS COUNTRY

A CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM In 10 seasons as the women’s cross country head coach Sean Cleary has led WVU to unprecedented national success and was named Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year three times.

During Cleary’s first season in 2007, the Mountaineers’ became the fourth program in school history to capture a Big East Championship title with Marie-Louise Asselin taking second overall. WVU would go on to finish ninth at the NCAA Championship the first top 10 finish in program history.

The 2008 season saw WVU place a school-best fourth place at the NCAA Championships, first at the Mid-Atlantic Regional and Asselin became the first runner to earn the individual title at the Big East Championship.

Keri Bland and Asselin became the first three-time All-Americans in cross country in 2009, leading the team to a sixth place finish after placing in 31st and 34th place, respectively.

Kate Harrison crossed the line at the 2011 NCAA Championship in an all-time program best eighth place and helped lead the team to a eighth-place finish as well.

In 2014, the Mountaineers’ recorded an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championship, where they earned two All-Americans (Jillian Forsey and Katie Gillespie), and an NCAA Elite 89 Award Winner (Kelly Williams). Gillespie now joins Asselin and Bland in being a three-time All-American as she placed 26th overall at the national championship. Cleary has produced 15 All-America titles and several all-conference runners.

In all, WVU has appeared in its ninth NCAA Championship, six under Cleary as head coach. This marks the Mountaineers fifth NCAA top-10 finish since 2007. In the 2015 USTFCCCA preseason national rankings, WVU cross country ranked at No. 10. It marks the eighth straight season WVU ranked inside the preseason poll.

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

3

KATE HARRISON 2011

ALL-AMERICANS West Virginia has produced 15 All-America selections from eight individuals, including at least one All-American performer in five of the last seven seasons. Each year Sean Cleary’s roster is filled with talent, looking for the next All-American for WVU.

CLARA GRANDT 2009

CHARITY WACHERA 1998

4

KAITLYN GILLESPIE 2010, 2011, 2014

CROSS COUNTRY

MEGAN METCALFE 2002, 2004

KERI BLAND 2007, 2008, 2009

MARIE-LOUISE ASSELIN 2007, 2008, 2009

JILLIAN FORSEY 2014

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

5

BIG 12 CONFERENCE The Big 12 Conference is comprised of 10 institutions and many of them share traditional rivalries throughout their histories.

Member universities include – Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia.

The Big 12 is a strong conference that, like WVU, values quality academic and athletic programs, and has a great tradition of success.

At the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Big 12 has had four NCAA individual champions.

Since 1996, the Big 12 has had a team finish in the top 10 every year at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The conference office is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

6

CROSS COUNTRY

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

7

ATHLETIC TRAINING

8

CROSS COUNTRY

The West Virginia athletic training program looks to get its student-athletes back on the field in a timely manner while providing quality health care for its student-athletes and coaches.

The scope of the athletic training services encompass various domains including injury recognition, treatment, rehabilitation, prevention, education, and counseling that will enable the athlete to maintain an optimal quality of life beyond the span of athletic competition.

Multiple athletic training rooms are available for student-athletes furnished with the latest in technology and equipment.

The athletic training staff will work in conjunction with the team physicians and athletic administration to assure the student-athletes receive quality care throughout their careers at WVU.

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

9

STRENGTH CONDITIONING AND

WVU’s strength and conditioning staff ensures all student-athletes are on year-long programs designed to continue improving the fitness capabilities needed in their sports To keep athletes in peak physical condition, West Virginia offers a variety of training areas and an array of strength programs designed to increase performance.

All student-athletes will also have their own program individually calculated and updated throughout the year.

Equipped with excellent amenities and staffed by some of the finest strength coaches in the

10

CROSS COUNTRY

nation, athletes who come to West Virginia know that they are in good hands when it comes to their athletic capacity.

With cross country, special attention is paid to certain strengths and weaknesses that a distance runner has.

The cross country runners spend a great deal of time on specific dynamics like speed drills and strength and conditioning exercises so that when the team gets on the course, not only are they the fittest in the race, but also the strongest.

Winning and working hard are important to the West Virginia University cross country team. But becoming successful and positive role models on and off the course is just as significant.

Each year, the Mountaineers work to give back to Morgantown and surrounding communities.

The WVU cross country team has donated its time to helping the Jerry Lewis Telethon that is aimed toward helping kids with muscular dystrophy and related diseases. The Mountaineers do their part to help the cause by answering telephones, which are constantly ringing with donors.

The Mountaineers are frequent visitors to the WVU Children’s Hospital and help several different local community service projects.

The team also regularly donates its time and knowledge by hosting and teaching local youth track clubs the fundamentals of the sport. Along with strengthening the youngsters’ skills, they also teach the participants the importance of good sportsmanship, courage, determination and hard work.

Coach Cleary’s student-athletes can also be found reading to children at local elementary schools in the “Read Aloud” program. During their visits, the student-athletes read to students in several classrooms and encourage them to apply themselves to their studies.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Mountaineer coaches and players also take part in Relay for Life of Monongalia County, the American Cancer Society’s signature activity, which offers everyone in the community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer.

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

11

STUDENT-ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT West Virginia University offers a variety of services and programs to help student-athletes maximize their academic potential.

Department staff members work with coaches, on campus student service providers and faculty to help student-athletes meet the unique demands of the classroom, the sporting arena and the personal-social challenges they face as developing adults.

While many of the headlines center on the Mountaineers’ accomplishments on the court, WVU athletes have also made some noteworthy strides in the classroom.

To help its student athletes achieve academic success, one of the nation’s finest facilities resides in the WVU Coliseum – The Athletic Academic Performance Center. The 8,000-square foot facility provides individual and group study areas, a plethora of computer stations and the latest in fingerprint technology used when signing in.

More than 350 student-athletes were recognized for their achievement in the classroom last spring, at the 2016 Blue & Golden Globes Awards dinner, presented by the WVU Student- Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), honoring recipients of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll. Implemented in 1989, the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll was created to recognize students who have

12

CROSS COUNTRY

achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or better. Since the program began in 1989, nearly 4,000 student-athletes have earned a place on the honor roll. Ford retired in 2011 after 44 years of service with the WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

WVU’s combined varsity athletic teams have an Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 979. The graduation rate for student-athletes has been impressive, to say the least, over the past three years.

For the 2014-15 academic year, WVU had seven teams with perfect 1,000 scores: rifle, wrestling, men’s basketball, women’s soccer, rowing, tennis and women’s swimming and diving. The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each studentathlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team’s academic performance.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) provides a forum for the “voice of the student-athlete” on WVU’s campus. SAAC membership provides feedback to administration about how to better WVU athletic programs. They offer input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect

2015-16 SEASON One CoSIDA Academic-All American (Kelly Williams) Two CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team (Williams, Amy Cashin) 12 Academic All-Big 12 First Team Three 4.0 GPAs 18 named to Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

13

CAMPUS LIFE Character

Public, land-grant institution, founded in 1867.

Research Classification

R1: Doctoral Universities–Highest Research Activity, as described by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

WVU System Operating Budget More than $1 billion.

Accreditations

By the Higher Learning Commission and dozens of specialized academic accrediting agencies.

Governance

The WVU Board of Governors is the governing body of WVU. The Higher Education Policy Commission in West Virginia is responsible for developing, establishing and overseeing the implementation of a public policy agenda for the state’s four-year colleges and universities.

Location

Morgantown, W.Va., population 31,073, was rated “No. 1 Small City in America” by BizJournals.com for its exceptional quality of life. Business Insider named Morgantown the ninth best college town in America. Within easy traveling distance of Washington, D.C., to the east, Pittsburgh, Pa., to the north, and Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, to the northwest. Other recent rankings: Kiplinger.com included Morgantown in their 10 great places to live list; one of “Best Sports Cities” by Sporting News; 5th “Best Small Metro” by Forbes; 12th overall “Hottest Small City” by Inc.; one of “50 Smartest Places to Live” by Kiplinger’s; and the second-ranking “Best College Town for Jobs”

by Forbes.

14

CROSS COUNTRY

Student Profile

Fall 2015 enrollment, on WVU campuses statewide, was 31,514; 28,776 in Morgantown.

That included:

14,021 West Virginia residents, 14,755 nonresidents 22,498 undergraduates 4,711 graduate and 1,567 professional students

Academic Excellence

WVU ranks nationally for prestigious scholarships: 24 Rhodes Scholars, 22 Truman Scholars, 42 Goldwater Scholars, two British Marshall Scholars, 5 Morris K. Udall Scholars, 5 USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team Members (and 11 academic team honorees), 15 Boren Scholars, 36 Gilman Scholars, 46 Fulbright Scholars, 3 Department of Homeland Security Scholars, 25 Critical Language Scholars, 3 National Institute of Standards and Technology Fellowships and 4 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

Degrees Granted

In 2014-15, WVU awarded 7,201 degrees statewide; 1,832 graduate and 428 professional.

Faculty and Staff Profile

Excellent faculty—19 of whom have been named Carnegie Foundation Professors of the Year—guide and mentor students. instructional faculty: 3,244 graduate assistants: 1,650 total main campus employees: 8,239

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

15

Academics

Fourteen colleges and schools offering 353 majors in agriculture, natural resources and design; arts and sciences; business and economics; creative arts; dentistry; education and human services; engineering and mineral resources; law; media; medicine; nursing; pharmacy; physical activity and sport sciences; and public health. wvu.edu/Academics/

Student Living Experience

The First-Year Experience helps students navigate their first year at WVU. Elements include First Year Academy, which connects new students to the campus, their academic departments and other students; the Campus Read, which involves first-year students in a common reading experience to promote dialog and critical thinking; and Adventure West Virginia, an outdoor freshman orientation program. All WVU students benefit from a vibrant array of student life programs, including a Festival of Ideas lecture series, bringing the world’s top minds to campus to share their experiences and knowledge; WVUp All Night, a weekend package of safe, fun and healthy activities; an award-winning Student Recreation Center; and the Mountaineer Parents Club, helping families stay connected with their students’ education and life at WVU. Living and Learning Communities are student communities in certain residence halls formed around a theme or specific field of study. Students can live with others who share their academic and social interests. studentlife.wvu.edu

Freshman Class Profile

2015 average ACT of 24, SAT (combined math and critical reading) 1052, and high school GPA of 3.45.

Transportation

University buses operate free on a year-round basis as does the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system—a computer-directed system that glides along 8.7 miles of guideway between Downtown, Evansdale and Health Sciences Center campuses. In addition, Morgantown’s Mountain Line bus service offers free rides to students and employees.

WVU ID is required for all services. transportation.wvu.edu

Safety

WVU offers 24-hour campus security protection. Students can download LiveSafe, a free app that is an on-the-go way to connect with authorities. The University also sends urgent news through WVU Alert text messages. emergency.wvu.edu/alert

Student Organizations

Students can choose from 467 student organizations, and participate in an active intramural program and many club sports. studentactivities.wvu.edu

Study Abroad

Last year, 922 WVU students traveled to another country through University-led study abroad programs and international exchanges. Best College Reviews ranked WVU as having a top-50 study abroad program. internationalprograms.wvu.edu

Academic Innovation

Hundreds of distance education classes are available. elearn.wvu.edu

Service and Learning

The Center for Service and Learning develops and organizes service learning and volunteer opportunities for students and faculty. WVU earned the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement Classification—joining only 6% of all universities. It is the only institution in West Virginia the foundation recognizes for its community engagement. service.wvu.edu

Scholarships and Aid

Each year, WVU (Morgantown campus) awards over $433 million in financial aid, including $87 million in grants and scholarships. West Virginia residents may be eligible for the PROMISE scholarship in addition to WVU awards. A new campaign is under way to raise $50 million for student scholarships.

Honors College

The WVU Honors College encourages a style of learning and living that is tailored to the highly motivated, excelling student’s special requirements. Innovative, challenging courses, designed to stimulate creativity and to provoke in-depth discussion, are offered in small class settings. honors.wvu.edu

Internships

WVU offers hundreds of ways to gain valuable on-the-job experience and networking contacts. careerservices.wvu.edu

16

CROSS COUNTRY

Parents Club

The Mountaineer Parents Club, with more than 20,000 members in clubs across the state and nation, fosters success by connecting parents and family members with the student experience. The organization sponsors events on and off-campus, has a newsletter, a toll-free helpline (1-800-WVU-0096), parent electronic news and a Parent Perks program. Membership is free. parentsclub.wvu.edu

Athletics

A member of the NCAA and the Big 12 Conference, WVU competes at the Division I level in 18 sports. Teams make regular postseason bowl appearances in football, including winning the 2016 Cactus Bowl, and NCAA tournament appearances in men’s and women’s basketball, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2015; women’s soccer won its second consecutive Big 12 tournament championship in 2014 and made its 16th straight NCAA appearance in in 2015; women’s basketball advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2016. The WVU rifle team won its 18th national title in 2016, and in 2014 became the first WVU athletic team to visit the White House on NCAA Champions Day. wvusports.com

Facilities

The WVU System spans the state, including 518 buildings on 15,880 acres. The Morgantown campus has 245 buildings (11 on the National Register of Historic Places) on 1,892 acres. WVU operates 10 experimental farms and four forests throughout the state, in addition to WVU Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp. jacksonsmill.ext.wvu.edu/

Libraries

The WVU Libraries encompass eight libraries statewide and the WVU Press. Facilities in Morgantown include the Downtown Library Complex, Evansdale Library, Health Sciences Library, Law Library, and the West Virginia and Regional History Center. Onsite collections include more than 2.4 million books and 48,000 journal subscriptions, electronic access to 365 databases, over 500,000 e-books, and 47,300 online electronic journals. Library staff offer in-person and online assistance. libraries.wvu.edu

Admission and Application Timeline

Admission is based on a combination of high school GPA and ACT or SAT scores.

Applications are processed beginning Sept. 15 for admission the following fall. March 1 is the deadline for WV residents to submit PROMISE Scholarship applications. WVU has a rolling admissions policy, and while there is no official application deadline, applicants who apply later in the year may be deferred to the spring semester. admissions.wvu.edu

Visitors Center

Located on the Morgantown Waterfront, the WVU Visitors Center features unique, cutting-edge displays and traditional West Virginia hospitality. Guided tours are offered Monday through Saturday, except home football Saturdays. visit.wvu.edu

Alumni

Chartered in 1873, the WVU Alumni Association is made up of more than 190,000 graduates worldwide in some 135 nations. alumni.wvu.edu

Private Support

Through March 31, 2016, donors have moved the WVU Foundation more than 95% of the way toward the $1 billion goal for A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The campaign was extended through 2017 after donors shattered the original goal more than a year ahead of the deadline. Last fiscal year alone, donors contributed $125 million in new gifts, the second highest fiscal year of giving ever in the Foundation’s history. The Foundation’s total endowment is $565 million. www.wvuf.org

Extension

Throughout the year in West Virginia’s 55 counties, WVU Extension Service faculty and volunteers work with more than 624,111 West Virginians. 4-H alone reaches one in five West Virginia youths. ext.wvu.edu

Divisional Campuses

Potomac State College of WVU – Keyser, W.Va.; 800-262-7332; potomacstatecollege. edu West Virginia University Institute of Technology – Montgomery, W.Va.; wvutech.edu Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center – Charleston, W.Va.; hsc.wvu.edu/charleston Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center East – Martinsburg, W.Va.; hsc.wvu.edu/eastern WVU Beckley – Beckley, W.Va.

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

17

MOUNTAINEER EXCELLENCE

519 TOTAL STUDENT-ATHLETES WERE NAMED TO THE GARRETT FORD ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL AND 508 STUDENT-ATHLETES WERE NAMED TO THE 2015-16 BIG 12 COMMISSIONER’S HONOR ROLL LAST YEAR

18

CROSS COUNTRY

Team Records Baseball: 36-22, 12-11 Big 12; 4th place Big 12 Cross Country: 3rd place at Big 12 Championship; NCAA MidAtlantic Regional; 1 NCAA Championship Qualifier Men’s Basketball: 26-9, 13-5 Big 12; 2nd place Big 12; NCAA First Round Women’s Basketball: 25-10, 12-6 Big 12; 3rd place Big 12; NCAA Second Round Football: 8-5, 4-5 Big 12; T-5th place Big 12; Cactus Bowl Champions Gymnastics: 11-8, 1-5 Big 12; 3rd place Big 12; 5th place NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Rowing: 8th place at Big 12 Championship Rifle: 12-0, 8-0 GARC; GARC Regular-Season & Postseason Champions; NCAA Champions Men’s Soccer: 7-12-0, 2-3-0 MAC; 4th place MAC Women’s Soccer: 19-3-1, 6-0-1 Big 12; Big 12 Regular-Season Champions; NCAA Quarterfinals Men’s Swimming and Diving: 2nd place Big 12; 1 NCAA Qualifier: Andrew Marsh Women’s Swimming and Diving: 4th place Big 12 Women’s Tennis: 6-16, 0-9 Big 12; 10th place Big 12 Women’s Track and Field and Field: Indoor-9th Big 12; Outdoor-9th Big 12; 8 NCAA Qualifiers Volleyball: 5-24, 0-16 Big 12; 10th place Big 12 Wrestling: 8-10, 0-4 Big 12; 6th place at Big 12 Championship; 4 NCAA Qualifiers

NCAA Team Champions Rifle

Individual NCAA Champions Ginny Thrasher, Air Rifle, Smallbore

Team Conference Champions Rifle, GARC Regular-Season & Postseason Champions Women’s Soccer, Big 12 Regular-Season Champions

Individual Conference Champions Andrew Marsh, Men’s Swimming & Diving, 100 backstroke Ginny Thrasher, Rifle, GARC Smallbore

Individual International Team Honors Will Anti, Rifle, U.S. Junior National Team Michael Bamsey, Rifle, Great Britain National Team Kadeisha Buchanan, Women’s Soccer, Team Canada 2016 Summer Olympic Games,Team Canada CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, CONCACAF Best XI Team, FIFPro Women’s World XI Team, 2015 Women’s World Cup Best Young Player, 2015 BMO Canadian Player of the Year, Vanessa Flores, Women’s Soccer, Mexico U-20 National Team Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle, U.S. Junior National Team, National Junior Olympic Shooting Championship 10m air rifle Silver Medal, National Junior Olympic Shooting Championship 50m 3 positions Bronze Medal Meelis Kiisk, Rifle, Estonian National Team Ashley Lawrence, Women’s Soccer, Team Canada 2016 Summer Olympic Games, Team Canada CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, CONCACAF Best XI Team Garrett Spurgeon, Rifle, United States, U.S. National Team Bianca St. Georges, Women’s Soccer, Canada U-20 National Team Ginny Trasher, Rifle, Team United States 2016 Summer Olympic Games

NCAA Team Qualifiers Cross Country Gymnastics Men’s Basketball

Rifle Women’s Basketball Women’s Soccer

NCAA Individual Qualifiers Dylan Cottrell, Wrestling Andrew Marsh, Men’s Swimming & Diving Zeke Moisey, Wrestling Millie Paladino, Cross Country Bubba Scheffel, Wrestling Jacob A. Smith, Wrestling

NCAA Individual Regional Qualifiers Amy Cashin, Outdoor Track & Field Jillian Forsey, Outdoor Track & Field Brianna Kerekes, Outdoor Track & Field Shamoya McNeil, Outdoor Track & Field Millie Paladino, Outdoor Track & Field Savanna Plombon, Outdoor Track & Field Hannah Stone, Outdoor Track & Field Megan Yuan, Outdoor Track & Field

NCAA Championship Awards Ginny Thrasher, Rifle, Top Performer

WVUCrossCountry

NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Recognition Men’s Basketball

Rowing

Professional Draft Picks KJ Dillion, Football, Houston Texans (NFL), fifth round (159th overall) Chad Donato, Baseball, Houston Astros (MLB), 11th round (337th overall) Bria Holmes, Women’s Basketball, Atlanta Dream (WNBA), first round (11th overall) Karl Joseph, Football, Oakland Raiders (NFL), first round (14th overall) Nick Kwiatkoski, Football, Chicago Bears (NFL), fourth round (113th overall) Wendell Smallwood, Football, Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), fifth round (153rd overall) Blake Smith, Baseball, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (MLB), 29th round (876th overall) Daryl Worley, Football, Carolina Panthers (NFL), third round (77th overall)

Coaching Awards & Honors Nikki Izzo-Brown, Women’s Soccer, Big 12 Coach of the Year Mike Carey, Women’s Basketball, WBCA Victory Club Award (300 wins) Jon Hammond, Rifle, GARC Coach of the Year Bob Huggins, Men’s Basketball, ESPN Infinti Coaches Charity Challenge Second Round Vic Riggs, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Big 12 Coach of the Meet Ja’Juan Seider, Football, Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award Finalist Lisa Stoia, Women’s Soccer, NSCAA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year

CoSIDA Academic All-Americans First Team Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer Kelly Williams, Cross Country/Track & Field Second Team Jack Elliott, Men’s Soccer Third Team Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle Kailey Utley, Women’s Soccer

All-Americans First Team Michael Bamsey, Rifle, NRA Smallbore Kadeisha Buchanan, Women’s Soccer, NSCAA All-America Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle, NRA Air Rifle Meelis Kiisk, Rifle, CRCA, NRA Smallbore Nick Kwiatkoski, Football, ProFootballFocus All-America Ashley Lawrence, Women’s Soccer, NSCAA All-America Jean-Pierre Lucas, Rifle, NRA Smallbore Garrett Spurgeon, Rifle, CRCA, NRA Air Rifle, NRA Smallbore Patrick Sunderman, Rifle, NRA Air Rifle Ginny Thrasher, Rifle, CRCA, NRA Air Rifle Second Team Michael Bamsey, Rifle, CRCA Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer, Senior CLASS Award Bria Holmes, Women’s Basketball, Senior CLASS Award Meelis Kiisk, Rifle, NRA Air Rifle Kirah Koshinski, Gymnastics, NACGC/W Regular Season (Vault) Jamie Merriam, Men’s Soccer, Senior CLASS Award Patrick Sunderman, Rifle, CRCA, NRA Smallbore Ginny Thrasher, Rifle, NRA Smallbore Third Team Karl Joseph, Football, CBS Sports Jean-Pierre Lucas, Rifle, CRCA Freshman Darius Hill, Baseball, Louisville Slugger, National Collegiate Baseball Writers, Baseball America Ivan Vera, Baseball, Baseball All-America Honorable Mention Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle, CRCA, NRA Smallbore Bria Holmes, Women’s Basketball, Associated Press , Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Jean-Pierre Lucas, Rifle, NRA Air Rifle Karl Joseph, Football, SI.com All-American

All-Conference First Team Michaela Abam, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Michael Bamsey, Rifle, All-GARC Smallbore Maggie Bedillion, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Danique Bryan, Track & Field, Outdoor All-Big 12 long jump Kadeisha Buchanan, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Nate Carr, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 400 IM Amy Cashin, Track & Field, Indoor All-Big 12 mile run, Outdoor All-Big 12 3,000-meter steeplechase Chad Donato, Baseball, All-Big 12

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

19

Sara Finfrock, Track & Field, Outdoor All-Big 12 pole vault Jillian Forsey, Track & Field, Indoor All-Big 12 5,000-meter run Outdoor All-Big 12 5,000-meter run Aidan Fumagalli, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 200 breaststroke Jaimee Gillmore, Women’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 100 freestyle Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle, All-GARC Air Rifle Bria Holmes, Women’s Basketball, All-Big 12 (unanimous selection) Meelis Kiisk, Rifle, All-GARC Combined Score, All-GARC Smallbore Nick Kwiatkoski, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12; ESPN.com All-Big 12, Phil Steele All-Big 12 Kirah Koshinski, Gymnastics, All-Big 12 Vault Ashley Lawrence, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Andrew Marsh, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 100 freestyle Shamoya McNeil, Track & Field, Indoor All-Big 12 triple jump, Outdoor All-Big 12 triple jump Alex Obendorf, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 Platform Tyler Orlosky, Football, ESPN.com All-Big 12 Nick O’Toole, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12; ESPN.com All-Big 12, Phil Steele All-Big 12, Associated Press All-Big 12 Millie Paladino, Track & Field, Indoor All-Big 12 3,000-meter run, Outdoor All-Big 12 1,500-meter run Faith Penny, Track & Field, Indoor All-Big 12 high jump, Outdoor All-Big 12 high jump Michael Proietto, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 1-meter and platform Emma Skelley, Women’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 1,650 freestyle Max Spencer, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 100 breaststroke, All-Big 12 200 breaststroke Garrett Spurgeon, Rifle, All-GARC Air Rifle, All-GARC Combined Score, All-GARC Smallbore Patrick Sunderman, Rifle, All-GARC Air Rifle Hannah Stone, Track & Field, Indoor All-Big 12 high jump, Outdoor All-Big 12 high jump Ginny Thrasher, Rifle, All-GARC Air Rifle, All-GARC Combined Score Kailey Utley, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Rebecca Wendt, Track & Field, Indoor All-Big 12 1,000-meter run Daryl Worley, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12, Phil Steele, All-Big 12, ESPN.com All-Big 12 Second Team Will Anti, Rifle, All-GARC Smallbore Michael Bamsey, Rifle, All-GARC Combined Score Ryan Cain, Men’s Soccer, All-MAC Nate Carr, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 200 IM, All-Big 12 200 backstroke Jackson Cramer, Baseball, All-Big 12 KJ Dillon, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12 Merwane ElMerini, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 50 freestyle, All-Big 12 100 backstroke Aidan Fumagalli, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 100 breaststroke Taylor Gill, Women’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 400 IM Jaimee Gillmore, Women’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 50 freestyle, All-Big 12 100 butterfly Ross Glegg, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 500 freestyle Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle, All-GARC Combined Score Emma Harris, Women’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 200 breaststroke Jay Hickey, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 100 backstroke, All-Big 12 200 backstroke Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Darius Hill, Baseball, All-Big 12 Jake Iotte, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 100 breaststroke, All-Big 12 200 breaststroke Meelis Kiisk, Rifle, All-GARC Air Rifle James Koval, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 1,650 freestyle Nick Kwiatkoski, Football, Associated Press All-Big 12 Andrew Marsh, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 100 butterfly Logan McHenry, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 3-meter, All-Big 12 platform Chris McMahon, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 500 freestyle Lanay Montgomery, Women’s Basketball, All-Big 12 Noble Nwachukwu, Associated Press All-Big 12 Alex Obendorf, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 1 meter Jaysean Paige, Men’s Basketball, Associated Press All-Big 12 Coaches’ All-Big 12 Jean-Pierre Lucas, Rifle, All-GARC Air Rifle, All-GARC Combined Score, All-GARC Smallbore Joey Piatczyc, Men’s Soccer, All-MAC Carla Portillo, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Michael Prioetto, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 3-meter Tyler Orlosky, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12 Kyle Rose, Football, Associated Press All-Big 12 Bianca St. Georges, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Lindsay Schmidt, Women’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 3-meter Emma Skelley, Women’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 500 freestyle Wendell Smallwood, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12, Phil Steele All-Big 12, Associated Press All-Big 12

20

CROSS COUNTRY

Austin Smith, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 platform Hannah Steadman, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Patrick Sunderman, Rifle, All-GARC Smallbore; All-GARC Combined Score Ginny Thrasher, Rifle, All-GARC Smallbore Chase Williams, Men’s Swimming & Diving, All-Big 12 200 butterfly Devin Williams, Men’s Basketball, Associated Press All-Big 12, Coaches’ All-Big 12 Daryl Worley, Football, Associated Press All-Big 12 Third Team KJ Dillon, Football, Phil Steele All-Big 12 Tyler Orlosky, Football, Phil Steele All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Will Anti, Rifle, All-GARC Combined Score Michael Bamsey, Rifle, All-GARC Air Rifle Jared Barber, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12 Kyle Davis, Baseball, All-Big 12 Jimmy Galusky, Baseball, All-Big 12 Shelton Gibson, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12 Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle, All-GARC Smallbore Michael Grove, Baseball, All-Big 12 Karl Joseph, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12 Josh Lambert, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12 Noble Nwachkwu, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12 Arielle Roberson, Women’s Basketball, All-Big 12 Blake Smith, Baseball, All-Big 12 Ivan Vera, Baseball, All-Big 12 Elijah Wellman, Football, Coaches’ All-Big 12, Specialty, All-Newcomer/Freshman Teams Jevon Carter, Men’s Basketball, Coaches’ Big 12 All-Defensive Sh’Nia Gordon, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Freshman Darius Hill, Baseball, All-Big 12 Freshman Tynice Martin, Women’s Basketball, All-Big 12 Freshman Lanay Montgomery, Women’s Basketball, Big 12 All-Defensive Bianca St. Georges, Women’s Soccer, All-Big 12 Freshman Ivan Vera, Baseball, All-Big 12 Freshman

Conference All-Tournament Teams Kadeisha Buchanan, Women’s Soccer, Big 12 Kyle Davis, Baseball, Big 12 Conner Dotson, Baseball, Big 12 Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer, Big 12 KC Huth, Baseball, Big 12 Kirah Koshinski, Gymnastics, Big 12 Kailey Utley, Women’s Soccer, Big 12 Ross Vance, Baseball, Big 12 Devin Williams, Men’s Basketball, Big 12

Conference Major Awards Kadeisha Buchanan, Women’s Soccer, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Kirah Koshinski, Gymnastics, Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Nathan Howells, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Big 12 ScholarAthlete of the Year Tynice Martin, Women’s Basketball, Big 12 Freshman of the Year Jaysean Paige, Men’s Basketball, Big 12 Sixth Man Award Garrett Spurgeon, Rifle, GARC Senior of the Year GARC Shooter of the Year Bianca St. Georges, Women’s Soccer, Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Year Ginny Thrasher, Rifle, GARC Rookie of the Year

National Awards and Recognition Kadeisha Buchanan, Women’s Soccer, Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Finalist, 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Best Young Player Award, BMO Canadian Female Player of the Year, Soccer Net News Women’s College Boot Award, Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards Honda Sport Award nominee, CONCACAF Female Player of the Year Award nominee, CONCACAF Female Best XI Defender Award nominee, TopDrawerSoccer.com, Best XI First Team Bria Holmes, Women’s Basketball, Senior CLASS Award finalist Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer, Senior CLASS Award finalist Ashley Lawrence, Women’s Soccer, Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, CONCACAF Female Best XI Midfielder Award nomine, TopDrawerSoccer.com Best XI Second Team Jaysean Paige, Men’s Basketball, Reese’s NABC Division I All-Stars Tynice Martin, Women’s Basketball, USBWA National Freshman of the Year finalist Jamie Merriam, Men’s Soccer, Senior CLASS Award finalist Devin Williams, Men’s Basketball, Allstate NABC Good Works Team nominee

Regional Awards Alan Cooke, Golf, 97th West Virginia Amateur Champion Kadeisha Buchanan, Women’s Soccer, NSCAA All-Central Region First Team Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer, NSCAA All-Central Region Second Team, Darius Hill, Baseball, ABCA/Rawlings East All-Region First Team, Bria Holmes, Women’s Basketball, WBCA All-Region 3 Team

Ashley Lawrence, Women’s Soccer, NSCAA All-Central Region First Team Jaysean Paige, Men’s Basketball, USBWA All-District II Team Jon Ransone, Golf, U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier Hannah Stedman, Women’s Soccer, NSCAA All-Central Region Third Team Kailey Utley, Women’s Soccer, NSCAA All-Central Region First Team Devin Williams, Men’s Basketball, USBWA All-District II Team

Academic All-Conference First Team Darren Arndt, Football Aria Asselta, Rowing Hailey Barrett, Women’s Tennis Maggie Bedillion, Women’s Soccer Robyn Bernard, Gymnastics Madeline Bolin, Women’s Swimming & Diving Brandon Boone, Baseball Mackenzie Braden, Women’s Swimming & Diving Megan Brophy, Rowing Alisha Brownfield, Rowing Jevon Carter, Men’s Basketball Amy Cashin, Cross Country, Track & Field Lyn Yuen Choo, Women’s Tennis Allie Coates, Rowing Shaun Corso, Baseball Amelie Currat, Women’s Swimming & Diving Emily Deming, Rowing John DePalma, Football Alyssa Diehl, Cross Country Maggie Drazba, Cross Country Leah Emaus, Women’s Soccer Morgan Emter, Women’s Swimming & Diving Rachel Faulds, Cross Country Kelsey Frantz, Women’s Swimming & Diving Aidan Fumagalli, Men’s Swimming & Diving Gianna Gotterba, Volleyball Jordan Gillette, Gymnastics Jamiee Gillmore, Women’s Swimming & Diving Ross Glegg, Men’s Swimming & Diving Ray Guerrini, Baseball Brynn Harshbarger, Cross Country Susannah Hartlove, Rowing Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer Elizabeth Hooper, Rowing Nathan Howells, Men’s Swimming & Diving Melissa Idell, Gymnastics Jake Iotte, Men’s Swimming & Diving Elizabeth Kantak, Rowing Brianna Kerekes, Cross Country, Track & Field James Koval, Men’s Swimming & Diving Corinne Kule, Cross Country Jaida Lawrence, Gymnastics Carolina Lewis, Women’s Tennis Andrew Marsh, Men’s Swimming & Diving Celia Martinez De La Torree, Women’s Swimming & Diving Shamoya McNeil, Track & Field Joe Miller, Men’s Swimming & Diving Daxter Miles, Men’s Basketball Morgan Montgomery, Volleyball Louisa Morgan, Rowing Kaja Mrgole, Women’s Tennis Katie Murto, Women’s Swimming & Diving Tyler Orlosky, Football Millie Paladino, Cross Country Savanna Plombon, Cross Country, Track & Field Abbigail Rees, Rowing Lindsay Schmidt, Women’s Swimming & Diving Sydney Scott, Cross Country, Track & Field Habiba Shaker, Women’s Tennis Khairi Shariff, Football Hannah Shereve, Volleyball Jackson Sigman, Baseball Emma Skelley, Women’s Swimming & Diving Maxwell Spencer, Men’s Swimming & Diving Jacqueline Spiropoulos, Rowing Hannah Stone, Track & Field Paige Szabat, Cross Country Ross Vance, Baseball Kailey Utley, Women’s Soccer Bria Welker, Track & Field Rebecca Wendt, Track & Field Kelly Williams, Cross Country, Track & Field Chris Williams, Golf Loren Williams, Women’s Swimming & Diving Second Team Nathan Adrian, Men’s Basketball Amanda Bowman, Gymnastics Kadeisha Buchanan, Women’s Soccer

WVUCrossCountry

Alan Cooke, Golf Jackson Cramer, Baseball Frank Csonka, Men’s Swimming & Diving Kyle Davis, Baseball Sara Finfrock, Track & Field Philomena Fiorenzi, Women’s Swimming & Diving Madelin Gardner, Track & Field Alexa Goldberg, Gymnastics Austin Green, Men’s Swimming & Diving Bria Holmes, Women’s Basketball Skyler Howard, Football Ashley Lawrence, Women’s Soccer Grant Lingafelter, Football Emma Luigard, Women’s Swimming & Diving Yvon Martinez, Women’s Tennis Zeke Moisey, Wrestling Zaakira Muhammad, Gymnastics Chris Nelson, Wrestling Nick O’Toole, Football Andrew Riebel, Men’s Swimming & Diving Bubba Scheffel, Wrestling Mason Short, Golf Devin Williams, Men’s Basketball

All-Big 12 Rookie Team Cole Austin, Baseball Jacob Brewer, Baseball Tanner Campbell, Baseball Michael Grove, Baseball Endy Morales, Baseball Alexis Brewer, Women’s Basketball Katrina Pardee, Women’s Basketball Yassemeen Sa’Dullah, Women’s Basketball Lauren Saiki, Women’s Basketball Olivia Seggie, Women’s Basketball Anna French, Cross Country Olivia Hill, Cross Country Tristan Nicholls, Golf Carly Galpin, Gymnastics Kirah Koshinski, Gymnastics Jaquie Tun, Gymnastics Tiara Wright, Gymnastics Madison Hrynda, Rowing Carly Ledbetter, Rowing Hannah Abraham, Women’s Soccer Laurel Carpenter, Women’s Soccer Patricia Fernandez, Women’s Soccer Vanessa Flores, Women’s Soccer Sh’Nia Gordon, Women’s Soccer Easther Mayi Kith, Women’s Soccer Amanda Saymon, Women’s Soccer Bianca St. Georges, Women’s Soccer Georgia Baldus, Women’s Swimming & Diving Marah Bieger, Women’s Swimming & Diving Emmott Blitch, Men’s Swimming & Diving Julia Calcut, Women’s Swimming & Diving Emilie Chambers, Women’s Swimming & Diving Drew Damich, Men’s Swimming & Diving Fernando Duenas, Men’s Swimming & Diving Lexi Glassmire, Women’s Swimming & Diving Sam Hall, Women’s Swimming & Diving Emma Harris, Women’s Swimming & Diving Adam Poe, Men’s Swimming & Diving Jake Preaskorn, Men’s Swimming & Diving Mary Smith, Women’s Swimming & Diving Jake Williams, Men’s Swimming & Diving Madelyn Woods, Women’s Swimming & Diving Paula Goetz, Tennis Abigail Roisello, Tennis Kirsten White, Tennis Danique Bryan, Track & Field Jordan Hess, Track & Field Chaqieta Robinson, Track & Field Connor Flynn, Wrestling

All-Big 12 Academic At-Large Team First Team Jad Arslan, Men’s Soccer Michael Bamsey, Rifle Ivo Cabral, Men’s Soccer Mike Desiderio, Men’s Soccer Jack Elliott, Men’s Soccer Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle Meelis Kiisk, Rifle Zak Leedom, Men’s Soccer Patrick Sunderman, Rifle Second Team Felix Angerer, Men’s Soccer Jamie Merriam, Men’s Soccer Jean-Pierre Lucas, Rifle Garrett Spurgeon, Rifle

@WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

21

Academic Momentum Award by the Scholar Baller Taylor Gill, Women’s Swimming & Diving, First Team

Academic All-MAC

Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer, Third Team Kailey Utley, Women’s Soccer, Second Team

Cactus Bowl MVPs

Carly Black, Women’s Soccer Amy Cashin, Track & Field/Cross Country Jack Elliott, Men’s Soccer Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle, At-Large Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer Nathan Howells, Men’s Swimming, At-Large Kailey Utley, Women’s Soccer Kelly Williams, Track & Field/Cross Country

College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Scholastic All-America Team Jean-Pierre Lucas Garrett Spurgeon Patrick Sunderman Ginny Thrasher

College Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Scholar-Athletes Madison James Louisa Morgan Jacqueline Spiropoulos

College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team Award West Virginia Women’s Swimming & Diving Team

College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team Emmott Blitch, Honorable Mention Julia Calcut, Honorable Mention Amelie Currat, Honorable Mention Aidan Fumagalli, Honorable Mention Jaimee Gillmore, Honorable Mention Andrew Marsh, First Team Lindsay Schmidt, Honorable Mention Madelyn Woods, Honorable Mention

Mid-American Conference Distinguished Scholar Athletes Jack Elliott

22

NSCAA Scholar All-America NSCAA Scholar All-East Region

CoSIDA Academic All-District II

Alisha Brownfield Emily Deming Elizabeth Hooper

Women’s Soccer Kailey Utley, Women’s Soccer, Third Team

Haydon Bennett, Men’s Soccer Ivo Cabral, Men’s Soccer Mike Desiderio, Men’s Soccer Jack Elliott, Men’s Soccer Zak Leedom, Men’s Soccer Louis Thomas, Men’s Soccer

Will Anti Michael Bamsey Elizabeth Gratz Meelis Kiisk

NSCAA Team Academic Award

Skyler Howard, Football, Offensive MVP

Curtis Jones Jr. Award Terrell Chestnut

Ed Pastilong Award Jared Barber

Academic Awards Carly Black, Women’s Soccer, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award John DePalma, Football, National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society Allie Diehl, Track & Field/Cross Country, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award Maggie Drazba, Track & Field/Cross Country, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award Taylor Gill, Women’s Swimming & Diving, Academic Momentum Award First Team Elizabeth Gratz, Rifle, WVU GARC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Peyton Hampson, Track & Field/Cross Country, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award Amanda Hill, Women’s Soccer, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, 2016 Order of Augusta, WVU Foundation Outstanding Scholar, Big 12 Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship Brianna Kerekes, Track & Field/Cross Country, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award Corinne Kule, Track & Field/Cross Country, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award Katie Murto, Women’s Swimming & Diving, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, Big 12 Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship Sydney Scott, Track & Field/Cross Country, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award Hannah Shreve, Volleyball, Big 12 Conference’s Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, WVU Foundation Outstanding Senior Kelly Williams, Women’s Track & Field, Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Big 12 Athlete of the Year Nominees Kadeisha Buchanan, Football Tyler Orlosky, Football

NACGC/W Scholastic All-Americans

Big 12 Sportsperson of the Year Nominees

Dayah Haley Jaida Lawrence Mackenzie Myers

Avery Schneider, Men’s Golf Hannah Shreve, Volleyball

Lia Salzano Erica Smith Maci Sump

CROSS COUNTRY

Staff

COACHING

Sean Cleary ����������������������������������������������������������� 24

Erin O’Reilly ����������������������������������������������������������� 28 Support Staff ��������������������������������������������������������� 28

CROSS COUNTRY AND TRACK & FIELD HEAD COACH

SEANC leary

10TH SEASON AND 24TH WITH PROGRAM OVERALL

Sean Cleary, one of the sport’s most talented coaches, enters his 10th season at the helm of the West Virginia University cross country and track and field teams, and he has been associated with both programs for more than 20 years. With his expertise in mentoring, training, conditioning and recruiting distance runners, the Georgetown, Ontario, native, has built West Virginia’s cross country program into a national powerhouse, producing 15 All-America honors and numerous all-conference runners.

The 2015 season saw many accomplishments academically and athletically. Cleary led the Mountaineers to a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship, attained two All-Mid-Atlantic Region honorees, coached an individual qualifier to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, had one Academic All-American First team runner, two Academic All-District Team honorees, and 12 who were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team.

At the Big 12 Cross Country Championship, three sophomores posted top-22 finishes on the 6k course in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Sophomores Maggie Drazba crossed the finish line first for the Mountaineers and 19th overall (21:32.5), Millie Paladino placed 21st (21:34.30) and Brynn Harshbarger came in 22nd (21:40.40).

At the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet in Princeton, New Jersey, West Virginia finished in fifth place overall.

The regional meet was highlighted by Paladino and senior Savanna Plombon’s All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors for posting top-25 finishes. Paladino led the Mountaineers while crossing the finish line in 11th place with a time of 21:16.20, and Plombon crossed the finish line in 23rd overall (21:25.20).

24

CROSS COUNTRY

Paladino was the lone Mountaineer to qualify for the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, the second straight championships for Paladino.

She placed 77th overall with a career-best time of 20:41.60 on the 6k course at E.P “Tom” Sawyer State Park.

On the academic side, senior Kelly Williams was named to the 2016 Track and Field/Cross Country Academic AllAmerica First Team selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), for the second consecutive year while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Additionally, junior Amy Cashin and Williams were named to Academic All-District First Team.

Twelve were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Cross Country First Team - Cashin, Allie Diehl, Drazba, Rachel Faulds, Harshbarger, Brianna Kerekes, Corinne Kule, Paladino, Plombon, Sydney Scott, Paige Szabat and Williams. Cashin, Kule and Williams were honored for maintaining 4.0. GPAs. With the guidance of Cleary, the 2014 season demonstrated true athleticism and dedication from young athletes. In the fall, he led the Mountaineers to a secondplace finish at the Big 12 Championship for the second straight year. Jillian Forsey finished 12th, earning Big 12 All-Conference honors, along with Kaitlyn Gillespie and Maggie Drazba.

The Mountaineers appeared in their ninth NCAA Championship, six under WVU head coach Cleary. In the 2014 season, he oversaw a top-8 finish, two All-Americans and an Elite 89 Award winner. The team earned its fifth NCAA top-10 finish since 2007. Kaitlyn Gillepse was

honored as an All-American in her final race as a Mountaineer, finishing 26th, along with Jillian Forsey as she finished 14th overall. Kelly Williams earned the Elite 89 Award for having the highest cumulative grade point average out of all participants at the NCAA Championship.

Cleary was named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) President for Division I Cross Country, prior to the start of the 2013 cross country season. He is currently finishing up his last couple of weeks as president and will have been with the association for a total of two years.

Cleary guided the Mountaineers to their sixth NCAA appearance in seven seasons under his direction in 2013. West Virginia posted a second-place result at the Big 12 Championship, while senior Sarah Martinelli went on to claim All-Big 12 and All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors.

West Virginia entered into a more highly competitive conference as it competed in the Big 12 for the first time in 2012. Cleary used the season to build on to his framework of confidence and winning at a higher level. Sarah-Anne Brault returned from training for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London for her final season as a Mountaineer by running in her fourth consecutive NCAA Championship. On the way, Brault garnered all-conference honors for the second time in her career, all-region honors for the third time and finished her career by becoming the 13th runner in program history to individually qualify for the NCAA Championship.

The Mountaineers finished No. 8 in the country in 2011 at the NCAA Championship – their fourth top-10 national finish in five years. The team finished in fourth place at the Big East Championship and followed it with a third-place mark at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. Cleary then led his team to its eighth-place finish at nationals where Kate Harrison and Kaitlyn Gillespie became All-Americans, with Harrison finishing in eighth place, an all-time WVU best individual finish for the event.

In 2010, Cleary sent Gillespie and Brault to the NCAA Championship, where Gillespie became Cleary’s sixth All-American with a 34th-place finish in 20:46 and Brault arrived in 71st place overall. During indoor track season, three athletes were named All-Americans and all seven athletes who qualified for the outdoor NCAA Championship achieved All-America status. For the achievements, Cleary was named the NCAA’s Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for track and field.

The 2009-10 season was equally successful as the team achieved sixth place at the NCAA Championship, its third straight top-10 finish, and Clara Grandt, Keri Bland and Marie-Louise Asselin earned AllAmerica status. Asselin and Bland achieved the honor for the third time in their WVU careers, while Grandt earned her first. Ranked in the top 10 all year, the team received its highest-ever ranking as a program at No. 3 midway through the season. Between indoor and outdoor track that year, 11 All-America honors were distributed, while Bland, Grandt and Asselin became the first Mountaineers to achieve the status in three sports in the same year. Overall, 17 All-American honors were given to WVU athletes between cross country, indoor and outdoor track during the year.

At the completion of the 2009-10 cross country and track seasons, WVU was recognized as the fifth-best team on the Terry Crawford Program of the Year Award list announced by the United States Track and Field and Cross County Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The award is given annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I women’s cross country and track and field programs and honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year based on the institution’s finish at the NCAA Division I Championship over three seasons.

In 2008, the team had its best-ever finish at the NCAA Championship, arriving in fourth after being ranked No. 5 most of the year. WVU won its second NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region championship and Cleary was named Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year. Asselin became the first in school history to win an individual Big East title and the team finished in second.

In Cleary’s first season as head coach in 2007, he was named Big East Coach of the Year. The team also became Big East champions for the first time in school history and a then-school record. Three runners were named All-Big East as the team entered the top 25 for the first time in three years.

WVUCrossCountry

SEAN CLEARY COACHING EXPERIENCE West Virginia University, 1993-Present ■■ 10th season as Head Coach ■■ 24th season overall with the program ■■ Coached/mentored 25 of the 37 AllAmericans at WVU ■■ A cumulative team GPA of 3.45 during the 2015 season ■■ Two former graduate qualifiers for 2016 Olympic Trials (Clara (Grandt) Santucci, Aubrey Moskal) ■■ One All-American in 2015 (Kaitlyn Gillespie) ■■ Three All-Americans in 2014 (Stormy Nesbit, Allison Lasnicki, Sarah Martinelli) ■■ Two All-Americans in 2014 (Stormy Nesbit, Allison Lasnicki) ■■ Two All-Americans in 2013 (Jordan Hamric, Kelly Williams) ■■ Two All-Americans in 2012 (Chelsea Carrier-Eades, Jessica O’Connell) ■■ Five ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans ■■ Seven Capital One Academic all-district honorees over past two seasons ■■ 2009-10 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award – Marie-Louise Asselin ■■ 10 NCAA Regional qualifiers in 2012 ■■ Two-time Mid-Atlantic Field Athlete of the Year (2010-11) – Chelsea Carrier ■■ 2008-09 Mid-Atlantic Track Athlete of the Year - Clara Grandt ■■ 2008-09 BIG EAST Indoor Most Outstanding Track Performer - Keri Bland ■■ 2008 1,000 NCAA APR score ■■ 24 BIG EAST champions ■■ Five ECAC champions ■■ Numerous NCAA National qualifiers RUNNING EXPERIENCE West Virginia University, 1991-92 ■■ Helped 1991 team to Atlantic 10 title ■■ Earned all-conference honors in 1992 EDUCATION West Virginia University, 1992 ■■ Bachelor’s degree (physical education) FAMILY ■■ Wife, Heather and son, Patrick

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

25

For the fourth year in a row, the Mountaineers were named an All-Academic Team by the USTFCCCA. The group was ranked 17th in the nation in terms of overall grade point average (GPA) and had the second-highest GPA in the Big East with a 3.61 average.

Cleary previously had been the distance coach in 2005 and 2006 and was a full-time assistant from 2001-04, serving as the primary coach and trainer for the cross country team during that span. Prior to the 2001 season, Cleary served as a graduate assistant coach for eight seasons at WVU. His primary duties included recruiting and coaching the middle distance and long-distance runners From 1998 to 2004, WVU’s distance medley relay team qualified for nationals for seven consecutive years, the second-longest streak in the nation, under Cleary’s watch.

Cleary has coached 17 athletes who have competed at the World Track and Field, World Cross Country, World University Games and Pan American Championship.

Cleary worked closely with former head coach Martin Pushkin in building the women’s cross country team into a national contender. Cleary was responsible for the recruitment and mentoring of NCAA mile champion Kate

26

CROSS COUNTRY

Vermeulen as well as All-Americans Rebecca Stallwood, Merissa Sexsmith and Megan Metcalfe.

Under his guidance, Cleary’s coaching has produced several men’s All-America runners, including four-time AllAmerican Bob Donker, NCAA cross country All-Americans Wynston Alberts, Mike Dudley and Steve Bohan, two-time NCAA qualifiers Jeff Metcaff and Bohan, NCAA qualifier Ian Collings and 5,000-meter All-American Mark Vilardo.

Cleary, who holds a USATF Level I Certification, is the primary recruiter for the cross country squad, attracting the best in-state, out-of-state and international athletes. He also is responsible for scheduling all meets and serves as the director for home meets.

He was a member of the Mountaineer team in 1991 and 1992, helping the 1991 squad capture the Atlantic 10 cross country title and earning all-conference honors his last season.

Cleary attended Central Oregon Community College, where he helped lead the team to the National Junior College Athletic Association title. He received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from WVU in 1992. He resides in Morgantown with his wife, Heather. They have one son, Patrick Nolan Cleary, who was born on April 30, 2014.

RECENT MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS UNDER CLEARY CROSS COUNTRY ■■ Two Mountaineer graduates competed at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics – Sarah-Anne Brault (Triathlon) and Jessica O’Connell (5,000m) ■■ One individual qualifier for the 2015 NCAA XC Championships – Millie Paladino ■■ One Academic All-America First Team (CoSIDA) – Kelly Williams ■■ Two Academic All-District First Team (CoSIDA) Amy Cashin and Kelly Williams ■■ Two all-region honors in 2015 Paladino and Savanna Plombon ■■ Clara Santucci raced at the 2016 Olympic Trials in L.A. ■■ Eight NCAA appearances in the last nine seasons ■■ Five NCAA top-10 finishes since 2007 ■■ 2014 Two All-Americans Jillian Forsey and Kaitlyn Gillespie ■■ Placed eighth at the 2014 NCAA Championship ■■ 2014 Elite 89 Award Winner Kelly Williams ■■ 2014 Jillian Forsey qualified for the World Cross Country team ■■ 2014 Big 12 Championship and Mid-Atlantic Regional second-place finish ■■ Three all-region and one all-conference runner in 2013 ■■ 2011 NCAA Championship eighth-place finish ■■ 2011 Two All-Americans Kate Harrison & Kaitlyn Gillespie ■■ Five all-region and three all-conference runners in 2011 ■■ 2011 Elite 89 Award winner Ahna Lewis ■■ 2010 Kaitlyn Gillespie named All-American ■■ 2009 NCAA Championship sixth-place finish ■■ 2007-09 Three straight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championship ■■ 2009 Highest weekly national ranking – No. 3 on Oct. 6, 2009 ■■ 2009 Three All-Americans – Asselin, Bland, Grandt ■■ 2009 Two Academic All-Americans – Asselin, Christopher ■■ 2009 Five All-Mid-Atlantic Region runners ■■ 2009 1,000 NCAA APR Score ■■ 2009 Three All-Big East runners – Asselin, Bland, Grandt ■■ 2008 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Champion ■■ 2008 Big East Championship runner-up ■■ 2008 Big East ChampionAsselin ■■ 2007 Big East Champions ■■ 2007, 2008 Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year ■■ 2007 Big East Coaching Staff of the Year

KAITLYN GILLESPIE ■■ 2015 Big 12 Champion in the 10k ■■ Three-time All-American (2010-11, 2014) ■■ USTFCCCA All-Academic honors ■■ 2014 Academic-All American ■■ 2014 Big 12 Women’s Cross Country ScholarAthlete of the Year ■■ 26th place at NCAA Championship ■■ 2014 Big 12 All-Conference honors for finishing in the top 15 ■■ 27th place at 2011 NCAA Championship ■■ 2011 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team ■■ 34th place at 2010 NCAA Championship ■■ Two-time All-Big East (2010-11) ■■ Two-time All-Mid-Atlantic Region (2010-11) KATE HARRISON ■■ 2011 All-American ■■ Eighth place at 2011 NCAA Championship, best individual finish at nationals in school history, beating Megan Metcalfe’s 2002 record of ninth place ■■ Four-time NCAA Championship participant ■■ 2011 All-Big East Team ■■ Three-time All-Mid-Atlantic region (2008, 09, 11) ■■ Named to 2011 USTFCCCA All-Academic team MARIE-LOUISE ASSELIN ■■ 10-time All-American in three sports (Cross County, Indoor and Outdoor Track) ■■ 2010second place finish at the Indoor and Outdoor NCAA Championship ■■ 2009 Cross Country All-American ■■ 2009 All-Big East Team ■■ 2009 All-Mid-Atlantic Team ■■ 2009 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team ■■ 2008 Cross Country All-American ■■ 2008 Big East individual cross country champion ■■ 2008 All-Big East Team ■■ 2008 All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team ■■ 2008 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic AllDistrict First Team ■■ 2007 Seventh place in the 3,000-meter race at NCAA Track and Field Championship ■■ 2007 3,000-meter Big East indoor track and field champion ■■ 2007 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic AllAmerican Third Team WVUCrossCountry

KERI BLAND ■■ 2011 All-American (indoor, outdoor 1,500 meters) ■■ 2011 Academic All-American Third Team ■■ 2007-08 and 2009-11 All-American in all three sports ■■ 2009 Cross Country All-American ■■ 2009 All-Big East team ■■ 2009 All-Mid-Atlantic Team ■■ 2009 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team ■■ 2009 Big East Indoor Championship Most Outstanding Performer ■■ Set school and Big East Championship meet records in mile event at 2009 indoor championship ■■ First WVU female to become All-American in three sports in same year (2008) ■■ 2008 Olympic trial qualifier in the 1500m ■■ 2008 Cross Country All-American ■■ 2008 All-Big East Team ■■ 2008 All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team ■■ 2008 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic AllDistrict Second Team ■■ 2008 1,000-meter Big East indoor track and field champion ■■ 2008 10th in the 1,500-meter race at the NCAA Outdoor Championship CLARA GRANDT ■■ 2014-15 Pittsburgh Marathon winner ■■ 2009 Cross Country All-American ■■ 2009 All-Big East Team ■■ 2009 All-Mid-Atlantic Team ■■ 2009 USTFCCCA all-Academic Team ■■ Big East Cross Country Runner of the Week (9/24/09) ■■ 2009 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year ■■ 10,000-meter ECAC outdoor meet record ■■ NCAA outdoor qualifier in 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter ■■ 2008 Team USA Cross Country team member ■■ NCAC Champion ■■ 2008 All-Big East Team ■■ 2008 All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

27

ERINO ’Reilly

ASSISTANT COACH / FOURTH SEASON

Erin O’Reilly is in her fourth season as an assistant coach with West Virginia University after joining the staff in August 2013.

During the 2015 cross country season, O’Reilly helped the Mountaineers to a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship, guided two to All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors, assisted an individual qualifier to the NCAA Cross Country Championships and helped one earn Academic AllAmerica First Team, two earn Academic All-District Team honors and 12 earn Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors.

The NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet was highlighted by sophomore Millie Paladino and senior Savanna Plombon’s earning All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors for posting top-25 finishes. Paladino led the Mountaineers while crossing the finish line in 11th place with a time of 21:16.20, and Plombon crossed the finish line in 23rd overall (21:25.20).

Paladino also was the lone Mountaineer who qualified to compete at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, the second straight championship for Paladino. She placed 77th overall with a career-best time of 20:41.60 on the 6k course at E.P “Tom” Sawyer State Park.

Two Mountaineers were named to the 2016 CoSIDA Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-District First Team, selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) - junior Amy Cashin and senior Kelly Williams.

Williams also was named as an Academic All-American First Team while maintaining 4.0 GPA. Twelve were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Cross Country First Team - Cashin, Allie Diehl, Drazba, Rachel Faulds, Harshbarger, Brianna Kerekes, Corinne Kule, Paladino, Plombon, Sydney Scott, Paige Szabat and Williams. Cashin, Kule and Williams were honored for maintaining 4.0. GPAs.In the 2014-15 track and field season, she helped guide seven Mountaineers to qualify for the NCAA East Region Preliminary Championships, as each ranked in the top 48 in their respective events.

At the 2015 Big 12 Outdoor Championship, O’Reilly helped coach four Mountaineer freshmen to top-five finishes as they earned spots on the podium. She helped guide Kaitlyn Gillespie to All-America honors after finishing ninth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Championship.

Her familiarity with WVU has been beneficial to the program along with the student-athletes as the program continues to excel. O’Reilly was a part of four individual NCAA appearances with the Mountaineers, along with the team’s eighth-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championship.

She works primarily with the long-distance sprinters and middle-distance runners for the track and field and cross country teams. She helped three Mountaineers to All-Mid-Atlantic Region distinctions, three All-Big 12 recognitions and two AllAmerica honors in the 2014 season.

In her first season, O’Reilly oversaw three individual qualifiers to the NCAA Championships and five qualifiers to the NCAA East Regional.

28

CROSS COUNTRY

O’Reilly was a member of the Mountaineer team in the early 1990s and graduated from WVU in 1993 with a degree in physical education. She was an integral part in the coaching of former Mountaineer Ailene Smith to All-America status in 2000-01. Smith is a two time All-American as a member of the distance medley relay team and in the 4x800 relay.

As a runner, she garnered many accolades while also serving as a team captain for cross country and track. O’Reilly finished third at the Atlantic 10 Championships as a junior and was named to the A-10 All-Conference Team. She was the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) champion and a NCAA provisional qualifier in the 1,000 meters her senior year. She held seven school records in cross country and track by the end of her career.

The Canton, Ohio, native served as a member of coach Cleary’s staff from 1994-2002. During that time, the Mountaineers registered 22 All-American honors and 13 Mid-Atlantic Region distinctions in cross country and track combined.

In 2003, O’Reilly joined the Boston College coaching staff as an assistant and held the position for 10 seasons. While on staff, she helped guide the Golden Eagles to multiple ECAC titles and numerous appearances at the NCAA Championships.

O’Reilly earned her master’s degree in athletic coaching education from WVU in 2004.

Support Staff ChrisDUNAWAY

AmyHILE

SamanthaSTREJECK

Sprints Strength Coach

Athletic Trainer

Graduate Assistant Athletic Communications

BubbaSCHMIDT

SandyCOLE-DEMENT Dr. MattLIVELY

CindySMITH

Equipment Manager

Assistant Director, Student- Medical Doctor Athlete Academic Services

Administrative Assistant

CaseyZIMMMERMAN

ConorMcNAMARA

SeanHOPKINS

Athletic Trainer

Assistant Equipment Manager

Graduate Assistant

MOUNTAINEER

Profiles

Rosters ��������������������������������������������������������������30 Jillian Forsey ����������������������������������������������������� 32

Peyton Hampson ���������������������������������������������� 33 Brianna Kerekes ������������������������������������������������ 34 Megan Yuan ������������������������������������������������������ 35 Amy Cashin ������������������������������������������������������ 36

Alyssa Diehl ������������������������������������������������������ 37 Maggie Drazba �������������������������������������������������� 38 Brynn Harshbarger �������������������������������������������� 39 Rebecca Wendt ������������������������������������������������ 40 Anna French ������������������������������������������������������� 41 Olivia Hill ���������������������������������������������������������� 42 Candace Jones �������������������������������������������������� 42 Peyton Panger �������������������������������������������������� 43 Andrea Pettit ���������������������������������������������������� 43 Archer Antigone ������������������������������������������������ 44 Abby Colbert ���������������������������������������������������� 44 Sara Wills ���������������������������������������������������������� 44

2016 Name

Rosters Height

Class

Hometown/Last School

5-4

Fr.

Southlake, Texas/Southlake Carroll HS

Amy Cashin

5-5

r-Jr.

Werribee, Austrailia/Werribee Secondary College

Abby Colbert

5-5

Fr.

Shepherdstown, W.Va./Jefferson HS

Allie Diehl

5-4

r-Jr.

Chardon, Ohio/Chardon

Maggie Drazba

5-1

r-Jr.

St. Marys, W.Va./St. Marys

Jillian Forsey

5-4

r-Jr.

Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador/Stephenville

Anna French

5-4

So.

Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata

Peyton Hampson

5-8

Sr.

Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg Central

Brynn Harshbarger

5-2

r-Jr.

Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown

Olivia Hill

5-5

r-Fr.

Scott Depot, W.Va./Teays Valley Christian

Candace Jones

5-5

r-Fr.

Bristow, Va./Patriot

Brianna Kerekes

5-5

Sr.

Morgantown, W.Va./Trinity Christian

Peyton Panger

5-4

r-Fr.

Charleston, W.Va./Capital

Andrea Pettit

5-4

r-Fr.

Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown

Rebecca Wendt

5-10

r-Jr.

Whitby, Ontario/Henry Street

Sarah Wills

5-7

Fr.

Morgantown, W.Va./University HS

Megan Yuan

5-8

r-Sr.

Thunder Bay, Ontario/St. Ignatius

Antigone Archer

By State/Province Australia 1 Minnesota 1 Newfoundland and Labrador 1 Ohio 1 Ontario 2 Pennsylvania 1 Texas 1 Virginia 1 West Virginia 8

By Class Freshmen 3 Sophomores 5 Juniors 5 Seniors 4 Pronunciation Guide Last Names Drazba drawz-buh Forsey FOR-see Harshbarger HARSH-bar-gur Kerekes Ker-eh-keys Panger P-An-ger Pettit Pett-it Wendt Went Yuan Yawn

30

CROSS COUNTRY

Peyton

1

HAMPSON

Sr. | 5-8 Waynesburg, Pa.

Brianna

1

Maggie

1

DRAZBA

r-Jr. | 5-1 St. Marys, W.Va.

1

r-Jr. | 5-2 Morgantown, W.Va.

1

1

So. | 5-4 Plymouth, Minn.

1

1

1

r-Fr. | 5-4 Charleston, W.Va.

Abby

1

COLBERT

Fr. | 5-5 Shepherdstown, W.Va.

1

r-Jr. | 5-4 Chardon, Ohio

r-Sr. | 5-8 Thunder Bay, Ontario

CASHIN

r-Jr. | 5-5 Werribee, Austrailia

Rebecca

FORSEY

r-Jr. | 5-4 Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador

1

WENDT

r-Jr.| 5-10 Whitby, Ontario

Candace

HILL

r-Fr. | 5-5 Scott Depot, W.Va.

1

Andrea

1

YUAN

Amy

DIEHL

Olivia

Peyton

PANGER

1

Jillian

Anna

FRENCH

Sr.| 5-5 Morgantown, W.Va

Alyssa

Brynn

HARSHBARGER

Megan

KEREKES

JONES

r-Fr. | 5-5 Bristow, Va.

Antigone

PETTIT

r-Fr. | 5-4 Morgantown, W.Va.

1

ARCHER

Fr. | 5-4 Southlake, Texas

Sarah

1

WILLS

Fr. | 5-7 Morgantown, W.Va.

WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

31

JILLIAN

REDSHIRT-JUNIOR | 5-4

STEPHENVILLE, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

2015 (Jr.) ■■ Medical Redshirt 2014 (So.) ■■ Academic All-Big 12 First Team, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA ■■ USTFCCCA All-American ■■ Capital One Academic All-America Third Team ■■ Competed at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championship, with a top-10 finish ■■ Varsity Sports Report Athlete of the Week (11/17) ■■ First WVU runner to cross the line at four competitions ■■ Placed 14th (20:17.9) overall in the 6k at the NCAA Cross Country Championship, where she earned All-America status ■■ Finished second overall, with a time of 20:18 (6k) at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, earning All-Mid-Atlantic region honors ■■ Placed 12th (6k) at the Big 12 Championship in 20:54.9, earning All-Big 12 recognition

32

CROSS COUNTRY

■■ Finished

Forsey

11th overall (6k) at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational, helping WVU knock off 17 ranked teams ■■ Crossed the line in fifth overall, with a 5k time of 16:58.69 at the Greater Louisville Classic

2013 (Fr.) ■■ Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team ■■ Named to the All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team following a 25th-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional ■■ Ran a personal-best time of 20:53 at the regional meet, while being the third Mountaineer to cross the line ■■ Finished in 25th place (21:34), as her first appearance of her career at the Big 12 Championship ■■ Competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championship, coming in 145th, with a time of 21:37.5 ■■ Claimed a Silver medal while representing the Canadian National Team at the 2014 North American, Central and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championship in Trinidad and Tobago

Prep ■■ Ran at Stephenville High for coach Ray Will ■■ Newfoundland Provincial Champion in the 800-meter run, 1,500-meter run and 3,000-meter run for six straight years ■■ Member of Team Canada for the World Junior Cross Country Championship, where she placed 49th with a 6k time 20:40 ■■ Placed eighth at the 2013 4k NACAC Cross Country Championship ■■ Finished first at the 2012 Canadian Cross Country Championship with a 5k time of 17:21 ■■ Won the Athletics Ontario Cross Country Championship with a 5k time of 17:45 ■■ Finished second at the Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions ■■ Named the 2012 Newfoundland and Labrador Female Athlete of the Year ■■ Won the 800-meter run and 1,500-meter run at the 2012 Nike High School Grand Prix ■■ Ran for Team Canada and finished 13th at the NACAC Cross Country Championship ■■ Won the gold medal in the 3,000-meter event at the 2012 Athletics Ontario Championship ■■ Finished 14th at the 2011 Canadian Cross Country Championship ■■ Placed fifth in the 3,000-meter run and seventh in the 1,500-meter run at the 2011 Canadian Youth National Championship ■■ Finished seventh in the 3,000-meter run at the 2011 Canadian Junior Championship ■■ Bronze medalist in the 1,200-meter run and fourth in the 2,000-meter run at the 2010 Canadian Youth National Championship ■■ Also a competitive cross country skier and was a member of the 2012 National Talent Squad that won a Bronze medal in the 5k freestyle at the 2011 Canadian National Championship Personal ■■ Daughter of Bill Forsey and Rosemary Ryan ■■ Has one brother ■■ Birthday is June 9 ■■ Majoring in exercise physiology ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll

Personal ■■ Daughter of Ron and Debby Hampson ■■ Has one brother and one sister ■■ Valedictorian of graduating class with a 4.0 GPA ■■ Birthday is January 4 ■■ Majoring in nursing ■■ Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll

PEYTON SENIOR | 5-8

WAYNESBURG, PA.

2015 (Jr.) ■■ Did not compete 2014 (So.) ■■ Did not compete 2013 (Fr.) ■■ Academic All-Big 12 First Team ■■ Finished in 32nd place (24:31) in the season opener at the Lehigh Invitational ■■ Posted a 27th-place finish (23:51) at the PSU Spiked Shoe Invitational ■■ Sixth Mountaineer across the line at the PSU National, while recording a 31st overall finish with a personalbest time of 22:52

Hampson

Prep ■■ Ran for coaches Duane Bowers and Jeff Cross at Waynesburg Central ■■ Placed third in 800 meters at the 2012 PIAA Track and Field State Championship with a personal best time of 2:11.52 ■■ Ranked fifth on the Regional All-Times list for 800 meters ■■ Finished first in the 800 meter-run at the 2012 Regional Championship and recorded the fastest AA time in regional history ■■ Placed fifth in the 800 meter-run at the 2011 PIAA Track and Field State Championship ■■ Holds the school records in the 400-meter and 800-meter runs, as well as the 4x400 relay WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

33

Prep ■■ Ran for coaches Lori and Tyler DeVault at Trinity Christian ■■ Named to the all-state first team, after placing second in the 200-meter and 400-meter runs and fourth in the 100-meter dash ■■ At the OVAC finals, she placed sixth in the 400 meter and fifth in the 200 meter and 100 meter ■■ Holds the school records in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter runs and the 4x400 relay ■■ Also played in basketball, volleyball and softball Personal ■■ Daughter of Brian and Susan Kerekes ■■ Has one brother ■■ Birthday is April 26 ■■ Majoring in occupational therapy ■■ Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll ■■ Dean’s List ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll

BRIANNA SENIOR | 5-5

MORGANTOWN, W.VA.

2015 (Jr.) ■■ Named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team ■■ Ran to a 37th-place finish in 22:10.4 (6k) at the Big 12 Championship ■■ Recorded a personal-best 5k time of 18:10.84, while placing 14th at the Greater Louisville Classic 2014 (So.) ■■ Academic All-Big 12 First Team ■■ Placed 11th overall, with a 6k seasonbest time of 23:04.53 at the Lehigh Invitational

34

CROSS COUNTRY

■■ Finished

Kerekes

fifth among WVU runners and 44th overall, with a 6k time of 23:06 at the PSU Spiked Shoe Invite ■■ Crossed the line in 24th overall, with a 5k time of 18:37.70 in the B Division race of the Greater Louisville Classic

2013 (Fr.) ■■ Finished 117th in the season opener at the Lehigh Invitational ■■ Also competed in the PSU Spiked Shoe Invitational, coming in 28th place overall, with a personal-best time of 24:45

■■ Finished

115th in the Black Race at the NCAA Pre-Nationals with a 6k time of 23:06.4 ■■ Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team Prep ■■ Ran at St. Ignatius High ■■ Placed 10th at the 2011 Junior Division Canadian Cross Country Championship ■■ Sixth at the 2011 OFSAA Senior Division Cross Country Championship ■■ 2011 Canadian Youth Division 3,000-meter Champion ■■ Finished second at the 2009 Junior Division OFSAA Cross Country Championship ■■ 2009 Canadian Midget Division 3,000-meter Champion ■■ Placed third at the 2009 Canadian Midget Division 1,500-meter run ■■ Finished third in the 2011 AO Youth Cross Country Championship in the 1,500-meter run Personal ■■ Daughter of Mike and Sue Yuan ■■ Has two brothers ■■ Birthday is February 9 ■■ Majoring in art history and general business ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll

MEGAN

REDSHIRT-SENIOR | 5-8 THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO

2015 (r-Jr.) ■■ Participated in the WVU Alumni Open relay event, being one of the five teams to finish first with a combined time of (22:54) 2014 (Jr.) ■■ Redshirted 2013 (So.) ■■ Finished 53rd (22:22.4) in the 6k event at the Big 12 Championship in her first appearance of the season

■■ Cut

Yuan

1:16 off her 6k time in her next outing, coming in 30th (21:06) at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional ■■ Competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championship, finishing in 233rd place overall, with a 6k time of 22:28.8 2012 (Fr.) ■■ Came in seventh at the WVU Alumni Open, with a 4k time of 15:48 ■■ Competed at the Greater Louisville Classic, where she finished 58th in the Blue Races with a 5k time of 18:54.66

WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

35

■■ Fourth

Mountaineer to cross the line, with a 6k time of 22:03.8 at the NCAA Cross Country Championship

Prep ■■ Captain at Werribee Secondary College for coach Peter Burke ■■ Member of Team Australia for the World Junior Cross Country Championship, where she placed 50th with a 6k time of 20:48 ■■ 2013 Victoria State U-20 champion in the 1,500-meter run ■■ Silver medalist at the 6k U-20 Australia Cross Country Championship ■■ Part of Team Victoria for cross country and track & field from 2007-13 ■■ 2012 U-20 Cross Country Champion in Victoria ■■ Bronze medalist at the 2010 4k U-18 Australia Cross Country Championship ■■ Silver medalist at the 2009 4k U-16 Australia Cross Country Championship ■■ Champion in the U-16 3,000-meter run at the 2009 Australia Track & Field Championship

AMY

REDSHIRT-JUNIOR | 5-5

WERRIBEE, AUSTRALIA

2015 (r-So.) ■■ Named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team ■■ Earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA ■■ Crossed the finish line in 27th with a time of (6k) 21:45.7 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional ■■ Finished 26th on the 6k course with a time of 21:47.6 at the Big 12 Championship ■■ Ran a 6k time of 21:15.3 to place fourth out of the Mountaineer finishers and 126th overall at the Wisconsin Invitational

36

CROSS COUNTRY

■■ Had

Cashin

a top-5 finish at the Greater Louisville Classic, placing fifth overall in (5k) 17:57.21 ■■ CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team 2014 (r-Fr.) ■■ Did not compete 2013 (Fr.) ■■ Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team ■■ Sixth Mountaineer to cross the line (6k), placing in 40th overall, with a time of 21:51.3 in her first appearance of the season at the Big 12 Championship ■■ Came in 63rd, with a personal-best time of 21:35 (6k) at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional

Personal ■■ Daughter of Peter and Brenda Cashin ■■ Has one brother and one sister ■■ Birthday is July 28 ■■ Majoring in sport and exercise psychology ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll

2013 (Fr.) ■■ Redshirted Prep ■■ Ran for coach Mike Combs at Chardon High ■■ Named valedictorian of senior class ■■ Four-year varsity letterwinner in cross country and track ■■ First-team All-PAC Conference ■■ Four-time regional qualifier ■■ Recipient of the Chardon High School Scholar-Athlete Award ■■ OHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award Personal ■■ Daughter of Robert and Rachel Diehl ■■ Has two brothers and a sister ■■ Cousin ran track at Arkansas ■■ Birthday is September 29 ■■ Majoring in industrial engineering ■■ Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll

ALYSSA

REDSHIRT-JUNIOR | 5-4

CHARDON, OHIO

2015 (r-So.) ■■ Named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team ■■ Finished 73rd overall with a 5k time of 19:06.13 at the Greater Louisville Classic ■■ Cross the finish line (6k) in 21st place with a time of 23:34 at the PSU Spiked Shoe Invite ■■ Finished second for the Mountaineers and 11th place overall for a career-best time (23:07) at the Penn State Open (6k)

Diehl

2014 (r-Fr.) ■■ Competed at four meets ■■ Academic All-Big 12 First Team, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA ■■ Finished 21st overall at the Lehigh Invitational to open the season, with a 6k time of 23:31.76 ■■ Placed 52nd overall in the 6k event (23:39) at the PSU Spiked Shoe ■■ Third WVU runner to cross the line (6k) at PSU Nationals and 26th competitor to finish overall in 24:08 ■■ Placed 114th in the B Division 5k race at the Greater Louisville Classic WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

37

■■ 2009,

MAGGIE

REDSHIRT-JUNIOR | 5-1

ST. MARY’S, W.VA.

Drazba

2015 (r-So.) ■■ Earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors for maintaining a 3.20 GPA or higher ■■ Crossed the finish line in 37th place with a time of 22:00.4 at the MidAtlantic Regional ■■ Was the first Mountaineer to cross the finish line and 19th overall with a time of 21:32.5 at the Big 12 Championship ■■ Finished second for the Mountaineers, placing 115th overall with a seasonbest time of 21:08.5 at the Wisconsin Invitational ■■ Top-5 finisher in the women’s 5k blue race, placing second overall for a season best time of 17:36.79 at the Greater Louisville Classic

■■ Third

2014 (r-Fr.) ■■ NCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region ■■ USTFCCCA All-Academic honors ■■ All-Big 12 Conference honors ■■ Academic All-Big 12 First Team, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA

Prep ■■ Four-year letterwinner at St. Marys High ■■ 2011 and 2012 Gatorade West Virginia Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year ■■ 2013 Gatorade West Virginia Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year

38

CROSS COUNTRY

WVU runner to cross the line at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championship, finishing the 6k course in 91st overall (21:09.2) ■■ Placed 13th overall at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional in 20:58 ■■ Finished eighth overall (20:40.1) in the 6k course at the 2014 Big 12 Championship ■■ Placed 15th overall and third among WVU competitors at the Greater Louisville Classic, completing the 5k course in 17:20.56 ■■ Raced to a 127th-place finish (6k) at the Wisconsin Adidas Invite in 21:31 2013 (Fr.) ■■ Redshirted

2011 and 2012 West Virginia AAA State Cross Country Champion ■■ Placed third at the Footlocker Southwest Regional with a time of 17:10 to qualify for the 2012 Foot Locker Cross Country Championship, where she placed 22nd overall ■■ Second place at the 2012 USATF Cross Country Junior Championship ■■ Helped lead Team USA to the championship at the 2012 NACAC, where she placed fourth individually ■■ Holds the West Virginia State Meet record for cross country with a time of 17:17 ■■ Took top honors at the 2012 Great American Cross Country Festival ■■ Part of a St. Marys squad that won the 2009 AA-A West Virginia Cross Country Championship ■■ Undefeated in Little Kanawha Cross Country Conference Championship competition all four years ■■ West Virginia outdoor track and field record holder in the mile (4:53), 1,600-meter run (4:51), 3,000-meter run (9:37), 3,200-meter run (10:27) and two mile run (10:37) ■■ West Virginia indoor track and field record holder in the 3,200 (10:41), two-mile run (10:29) and the 5,000-meter run (17:40) ■■ Finished second at the 2013 Penn Relays in the 3,000-meter run ■■ Four-time West Virginia track and field state champion in class A in the 800-meter run (2010-13) and the 1,600-meter run (2010-13) ■■ Three-time West Virginia track and field state champion in class A in the 3,200-meter run (2011-13) ■■ Part of the 4x800-meter relay team that captured the state title in 2012 ■■ Holds the West Virginia Class A state meet record in the 800-meter run (2:18), 3,200-meter run (10:31) and the 4x800-meter relay (9:48) Personal ■■ Daughter of Charles and Kathleen Drazba ■■ Has two brothers ■■ Birthday is May 18 ■■ Majoring in human nutrition and foods ■■ Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll

■■ Placed

third overall (21.39.58) in the 6k at the Lehigh Invitational ■■ First Mountaineer to cross the line, finishing in sixth place overall, with a 6k time of 21:25 at the PSU Spiked Shoe ■■ Finished 90th (21:07) overall in the 6k at the Wisconsin Adidas Invite 2013 (Fr.) ■■ Did not compete

BRYNN

REDSHIRT-JUNIOR | 5-2

MORGANTOWN, W.VA.

2015 (r-So.) ■■ Named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team ■■ Raced to a 36th-place finish with a 6k time of 21:59.2 at the NCAA MidAtlantic Regional ■■ Posted a top-25 finish, placing 22nd with a time of 21:40.4 at the Big 12 Championship ■■ Finished first for the Mountaineers and 97th overall in 20:57.6 at the Wisconsin Invitational

Harshbarger ■■ Took

a top-five finish, placing fourth overall (17:53.03) in the 5k blue race at the Greater Louisville Classic

2014 (r-Fr.) ■■ USTFCCCA All-Academic honors ■■ Academic All-Big 12 First Team ■■ Finished 103rd (21:13.5) overall in the 6k at the NCAA Championship ■■ Placed ninth overall (6k) at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, earning all-region ■■ Crossed the 6k line in 16th overall (20:58.9) at the Big 12 Championship

WVUCrossCountry

Prep ■■ Ran at Morgantown High for coach Mike Ryan ■■ Placed second in the 1,600-meter run and fifth in the 3,200-meter run at the 2013 West Virginia State Track & Field Championship ■■ Part of the winning 4x800-meter relay team at the 2013 West Virginia State Track & Field Championship ■■ Led team to a third-place finish at the NXN Southeast Regional Cross Country Championship, while also individually placing 15th ■■ Runner-up at the 2012 West Virginia State Cross Country Championship, which helped her team to a first-place finish ■■ Placed 10th at the Great American Cross Country Festival with a personalbest 5k time of 18:02 ■■ Won the 3,200-meter run at the 2012 West Virginia State Track & Field Championship and placed third in the 1,600-meter run and second in the 4x800-meter relay ■■ Finished eighth individually at the 2012 West Virginia State Cross Country meet and led her team to a first-place finish ■■ Member of the 4x800-meter relay team that finished third at the 2011 West Virginia State Track & Field Championship Personal ■■ Daughter of Dave and Colleen Harshbarger ■■ Has one brother ■■ Birthday is December 1 ■■ Majoring in biology ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

39

Personal ■■ Daughter of Stephen and Alison Wendt ■■ Has one sister ■■ Birthday is December 15 ■■ Majoring in finance ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll

REBECCA

REDSHIRT-JUNIOR | 5-10

WHITBY, ONTARIO

2015 (r-So.) ■■ Competed for the first time as a Mountaineer, placing 83rd overall with a 5k time of 19:12.26 at the Greater Louisville Classic 2014 (r-Fr.) ■■ Did not compete 2013 (Fr.) ■■ Redshirted Prep ■■ Double OFSAA Bronze medalist in the 800-meter run and 1,500-meter run in 2013 and 2012

40

CROSS COUNTRY

■■ Named

Wendt

Most Outstanding Varsity track athlete in 2013 and 2012 ■■ Silver medalist at the 2012 Junior Provincials in the 800-meter run and Bronze medalist in the 1,500-meter run ■■ 2012 Youth National Champion in the 800-meter run and Silver medalist in the 1,500-meter run ■■ Finished fifth at the 2011 OFSAA Cross Country Championship ■■ 2010 OFSAA Midget Champion in the 1,500 and 3,000-meter runs, while earning bronze in the 800-meter run ■■ Broke four regional records on her way to being named Most Outstanding Track and Cross Country Athlete

■■ State Champions in 2012 and 2014 ■■ Captain of the 2014 cross country

team

■■ Placed

seventh at the Class 2A cross country meet ■■ Placed fifth in the 5k, with a personabest time of 17:38 ■■ Placed fifth at Heartland Regional in 2014 and placed fourth in 2012 ■■ At the Nike Cross Nationals she placed 34th in 2014, eighth in 2013 and 19th in 2012 ■■ Received the top-10 award for having one of the top-10 GPAs in her class (4.0 unweighted) ■■ Also ran on the track and field team ■■ Participated in Nordic skiing Personal ■■ Daughter of Christopher and Jean French ■■ Has one sister ■■ Her aunt, Cindy Seikkula Peterson, participated in the 1976 Olympics for speed skating ■■ Birthday is August 17 ■■ Majoring in biology ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll

ANNA

SOPHOMORE | 5-4

PLYMOUTH, MINN.

2015 (Fr.) ■■ Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team ■■ Placed 47th overall, while crossing the finish line (6k) with a time of 22:09.3 at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional ■■ Crossed the 6k finish line in fifth for the Mountaineers and 31st overall with a time of 21:55.2 at the Big 12 Championship ■■ Made her career debut as a Mountaineer, placing 159th with a time of 21:32.4 at the Wisconsin Invitational

French

High School ■■ Ran at Wayzata High for coaches Dave Emmans and Addy Hallen ■■ Earned the Athena Award for school’s most outstanding female athlete (2014-15) ■■ Conference and section champion for cross country and track & field (2011-2013) ■■ Earned All-America distinctions in 2012-13 ■■ Three-time all-state honoree in 2011-14 ■■ Nike Cross Champions in 2013 WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

41

OLIVIA

2015 (Fr.) ■■ Redshirted ■■ Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team High School ■■ Ran at Teays Valley Christian School for coach Aubrey Morris

Hill

REDSHIRT-FRESHMAN | 5-5

1

SCOTT DEPOT, W.VA.

■■ Winner

of Hurricane Cross Country Invitational in 2014 ■■ Was named Teays Valley Christian School 2015 Female Athlete of the Year ■■ Earned the Team High Point Award for track ■■ Participated in basketball and volleyball

Personal ■■ Daughter of Craig and Jenny Hill ■■ Has one brother ■■ Birthday is November 25 ■■ Majoring in exercise physiology ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll

CANDACE

Jones

REDSHIRT-FRESHMAN | 5-5

BRISTOW, VA.

2015 (Fr.) ■■ Redshirted High School ■■ Ran at Patriot High for coach Adam Daniels ■■ Seven-time all-state ■■ 2015 Indoor State Champion in the 1000-meters (2:54.24) her senior year

42

CROSS COUNTRY

■■ At

the 2015 VHSL Group 6A Conference Championship, she ran a personal-best of 5:00.05 in the 1600m ■■ Ran a personal-best of 2:11.08 in the 800-meter event at the 2014 VHSL Group 5A/6A State Outdoor Championship ■■ Ran in the 1000-meter event (2.54.42) at the VHSL Group 6A State Indoor Track and Field

■■ Competed

in the 400-meter event with a time of 57.8 ■■ Ran the 5k with a career-best of 18:48.30 Personal ■■ Daughter of Robert and Margaret Jones ■■ Has one sister ■■ Birthday is March 14 ■■ Majoring in criminology

1

PEYTON

CHARLESTON, W.VA.

■■ Three-time

2015 (Fr.) ■■ Redshirted High School ■■ Ran at Capital High while maintaining a 4.0 GPA ■■ Four-time WV All-State Cross Country team ■■ Was named 2014 WV Gatorade Cross Country of the Year ■■ Four-time WV Region 3 Cross Country Champion

Panger

REDSHIRT-FRESHMAN | 5-4

WV All-State Track team (3x3200m, 3x1600m, 1x800m) ■■ Three-time Mountain State Athletic Conference Cross Country Champion ■■ Mountain State Athletic Conference Track Champion multiple times ■■ Finished in 16th at the North Carolina Great American Cross Country Festival Race of Champions ■■ 2014 first team all-state selection ■■ Took second at the Class AAA state meet with a time of 18:51.7 ■■ Finished 52nd at the Foot Locker Couth Regional Championship (18:18) ■■ Recorded a personal best in the 5k with a time of 17:54

■■ Ran

the 1600-meter event in 5:00 for a personal-record ■■ Marked a career-best in the 800meter with a time of 2:16 ■■ Finished with a personal-best in the 3200m with a time of 10:51

Personal ■■ Daughter of Michael and Joanie Panger ■■ Has one brother ■■ Third generation Mountaineer ■■ Birthday is January 22 ■■ Majoring in engineering ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll

ANDREA

REDSHIRT-FRESHMAN | 5-4

MORGANTOWN, W.VA.

2015 (Fr.) ■■ Redshirted High School ■■ Ran for coaches Mike Ryan and Jonathan Wright at Morgantown High ■■ 2012 West Virginia Cross Country All-State Team ■■ National High School Coaches Association Academic All-American

■■ Contributing

member of five state championship teams ■■ Contributing member of four state runner-up teams ■■ First Morgantown High athlete to be a 12-time letterwinner ■■ 2015 swim team captain

WVUCrossCountry

Pettit

Personal ■■ Daughter of John and Denise Pettit ■■ Has one sister, Alison, who ran cross country and track at WVU ■■ Father swam at WVU ■■ Birthday is June 12 ■■ Majoring in immunology and medical microbiology ■■ Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll ■■ Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

43

NEWCOMERS

ANTIGONE Archer FRESHMAN | 5-4

SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS

1

High School ■■ Ran at University High for coach Ed Fronapfel and ran club for WV Flyers under coach Jonathan Wright ■■ West Virginia state champions in 2014 and 2015 ■■ 2014 OVAC 5A champion ■■ Two-time cross country all-state ■■ Four-time all-state honoree in the 4×800 relay ■■ Placed third in the 800 meters, running a personal-best time of 1:17 at the 2016 state championships ■■ Runner-up finish in the 3,200 meters at the 2016 state championships, finishing with a personal-best time of 10:57 ■■ 2016 state champion in the 1,600 meter with a personal-best time of 5:04 ■■ Member of the National Honor Society and math honorary - Mu Alpha Theta Personal ■■ Daughter of Norman and Rebecca Wills ■■ Has one sister ■■ Birthday is December 11 ■■ Majoring in biomedical engineering

ABBYColbert

FRESHMAN | 5-57 SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.VA..

1

High School ■■ Ran at Jefferson High for coach Katie Myers and Matt Speaker ■■ Two-year team captain ■■ Four-time all-state honoree in West Virginia ■■ Two-time state champion ■■ Personal-best times in the three mile - 17:51 and two mile – 10:56 ■■ Ran a personal-best time in the one mile (5:06), 800 meters (2:20) and 400 meters (1:00) Personal ■■ Daughter of Chris and Samantha Colbert ■■ Has one brother and a twin sister ■■ Birthday is August 25 ■■ Majoring in sport psychology

SARAH Wills

FRESHMAN | 5-7

MORGANTOWN, W.VA

1

High School ■■ Ran at Southlake Carroll High for coach Justin Leonard ■■ Varsity letter winner in track and field and cross country (2013-16) ■■ Two-time Nike Cross National Champions and two-time state champions ■■ Placed fifth at the Texas 5A state cross country championship Personal ■■ Daughter of David and Amanda Archer ■■ Has one brother and two sisters ■■ Birthday is March 31 ■■ Majoring in mechanical engineering

44

CROSS COUNTRY

2016

Preview

A Look at 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Q&A With Coach Sean Clearly . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Schedule and Host Information . . . . . . . . . . 52

2016Preview Coach Sean Cleary Coach Sean Cleary enters into his 10th year as head coach of the WVU cross country team and his 24th season overall with the program. Cleary has experienced great success at the helm, guiding WVU to 13 NCAA appearances, 10 of which have been during his head coaching tenure and three as an assistant coach. The Georgetown, Ontario, native coached West Virginia to a third- place finish at the 2015 Big 12 Cross Country Championship and coached sophomore Millie Paladino to represent the Mountaineers at the NCAA Championships. As Cleary looks toward the new year, he has developed a new strategy in hopes of maximizing the team’s success.

Goals And Accomplishments This Year After reflecting back on last year, Cleary realized a few things needed to be done in order to gain momentum. He decided to change the training regimen and strategy on the 2016 schedule. With these alterations in mind, Cleary remains confident about this year’s team.

“This is a veteran team but still a young team,” said Cleary. “We have a lot of girls with a lot of eligibility left. We have five or six girls who have run in the national championships, most teams don’t have that. Some of the girls had good track seasons and we had others that struggled a little bit.

Summer training has gone well. I would say the leadership in our juniors and seniors is strong and their experience is exceptional. The young girls in the program are in good hands.”

Last year, Drazba and Harshbarger posted top-25 finishes at the 2015 Big 12 Championship. The two led the way for the Mountaineers as Drazba crossed the finish line first for the Mountaineers and 19th overall, and Harshbarger was third for WVU and 22nd overall. Cashin and Kerekes also competed at the conference championship.

Yuan and Hampson did not compete last year, but the two are looking to make their marks this season.

“I think most years with West Virginia’s program, the number one evaluation will be whether or not we get to the NCAA finals,” said Cleary. “This year is no different. I feel like we have the roster. I feel like we have the team. If things go well, we can catch a little bit of a break in terms of health. We can accomplish that goal. I would say that I’ve had teams in the past that were not as accomplished as this one make it. I’ve had teams that were a little more accomplished than this group not make it, so it really comes up to the individuals. I know they’ve worked hard this summer. I know they’re going to work hard during the year. We just need to catch a little bit of a break. I feel we’re in a good spot in August looking ahead.”

Sophomores Sophomores Anna French, Olivia Hill, Candace Jones, Peyton Panger and Andrea Pettit are ready to show the rest of the team what they’re made of.

Although Hill, Joes, Panger and Pettit redshirted last season, the four runners have trained hard to compete this season.

Junior and Senior Leadership The 2016 roster is filled with juniors and seniors who are ready to lead this season.

“Olivia has really set herself up well. Last year’s freshmen have gone home this summer and realized that it’s time for us to make an impact in the program. I think some will see it in the fall and others will see it in the track season. Once this junior group graduates, this young group will be juniors, and they’ll be ready to take over the mantel.”

Seniors Peyton Hampson, Megan Yuan and Brianna Kerekes and juniors Amy Cashin, Maggie Drazba, Allie Diehl, Jillian Forsey, Brynn Harshbarger and Rebecca Wendt will take the underclassmen under their wings as they lead the team. The three seniors and six juniors make up 53 percent of the roster.

48

CROSS COUNTRY

“One of the impacts for us this season is Candace Jones,” said Cleary. “She had a really nice track season. She was running unattached, but she had a great season. Another is Olivia Hill. Olivia very quietly moved her way through. I actually expect her to be one of the most improved in the program this year.

Last year, French gained experience as she competed at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational and the Big 12 Championship. At Big 12s, she was the fifth Mountaineers to cross the line and finished 31st overall.

Newcomers Three freshmen have joined WVU’s 2016 cross country team, Sarah Wills, Antigone Archer and Abby Colbert. A native of Morgantown, West Virginia, Wills attended University High where she was named to the all-state team twice in cross country. Wills also was a member of the National Honor Society and math honorary. Each individual will look to make their mark and help the team succeed.

“As is tradition at West Virginia, most freshmen don’t race, but I like what I see with Sarah Wills, and she may see time in the uniform this fall,” said Cleary. “It will take a year or two before they have an impact, but we have a nice group.”

2016 Schedule This year’s schedule has been set up a little different than normally. To start off the season, the team will race in the annual WVU alumni race. In the regular season, the Mountaineers will have a chance to preview both the Big 12 Championship course and the NCAA Regional course before the actual events.

“We’ll have a fun little opener, the alumni meet,” said Cleary. “It will bring together some of the past runners in the program and give us a very light introduction into the season. We did it last year, and I thought it went well.

“We then get a month to train so we’re not going to do things prematurely to get ready for the first few meets. We’re going to use August to get ready for the fall, and we’re going to use September to get ready for the championships.

We have four weeks to train which is pretty rare. We might be one of just two or three teams in the country who have put a schedule like this together.”

The team opens regular season competition at the Texas Tech Invitational on September 8, in Lubbock, Texas, previewing the Big 12 Championship course. This is the first time West Virginia competes on Texas Tech’s course.

“We’ve never raced there, and there’s a little altitude there,” coach Cleary said. “I really want out team to experience it so we can put together a race strategy for Big 12s. I think it’s good to see a course and good for the girls to visualize it a few months before we go there for the championships.”

For the fifth consecutive season, the Mountaineers will compete at the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational held on September 10, in State College, Pennsylvania. West Virginia will then compete at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on October 1.

“We’ll come out at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University, and we’ll get to be in a competition with 40-50 universities,” said Cleary. “We’re all in at that point. Anyone who’s healthy and ready to go will be racing the remainder of the season.”

Two weeks later on October 14, the team returns to PSU for the second time this season to compete at the Penn State National Invitational.

WVU will compete for a Big 12 title at the Big 12 Championship on October 29, in Lubbock, Texas. Last season the squad finished third overall.

PSU also will serve host to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on November 11 in State College, Pennsylvania. The NCAA Championships is on November 19 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

49

Q&A WITH

CoachSean Cleary

What does it take to go to the NCAA Cross Country Championships?

For the first time in many years, we’ve done a little bit of training this summer that might give us a head start coming into the fall.

Normally in the past, we’ve waited until September to start doing workouts.

This year, we’re a few weeks ahead for various reasons. Realistically, I think many times coaches and teams take on different personalities. Some will take seven individuals and train them separately, and then you bring them together for an overall team score. Other times they’ll look at the chemistry of the team and will approach it based on a team commitment with each other. This year, this group has committed themselves to look in the mirror and ask who are we, what are we and what do we want to do? They’ve decided that they want to approach it as a team with 15 to 18 girls doing everything they can to make this team the best that it can be. Many girls on this team have run in the national championships and some finished in the top eight as a team two years ago, so they’ve experienced success as a team and individually. They want to be back in Terre Haute, Indiana (where the championships are held).

50

CROSS COUNTRY

What are your goals this season?

I think most years with West Virginia’s program, the No. 1 evaluation will be whether or not we go the NCAA Championships. This year is no different. I feel we have the roster. I feel we have the team. If things go well, then we can catch a little bit of a break in terms of health, we can accomplish that goal. I would say that I’ve had teams in the past that were not as accomplished as this one make it to the championships. I’ve also had teams that were slightly more successful than this group not make it, so it really comes down to the individuals. I know they’ve worked hard this summer. I know they’re going to work hard during the year. We just need to catch a break. I feel we’re in a good spot in August looking ahead.

The 2016 Big 12 Championship is being held at Texas Tech this year, which we’ve never seen. What do you know about this course?

I have not seen it, but I hear it’s a great venue. We’ve never raced there. It’s on a

golf course. There will be a slight altitude.

Going there the first week in September will be very different. Texas in September is a lot different than Texas in October. I’m expecting hot extreme conditions the first time we go. I really want them to experience the course, so we can put together a race strategy for Big 12s. I think it’s good to preview a course and for the girls to visualize it a few months before we go to the championships. With the altitude, it will be an interesting learning experience for the girls. By the time we get back there for the Big 12 Championship, it should be a bit cooler, and we’ll already have the experience of having gone the first time.

Talk about former WVU cross country and track and field student-athletes Megan Metcalfe (Wright) and Charity Wachera being inducted into WVU’s Sports Hall of Fame That’s two in row, which is great. Charity has been in the pool for a while. Charity helped change the program years ago.

WVUCrossCountry

We’d never been to nationals before Charity stepped onto this campus. She graduated as a fifth-year leading a ton freshmen girls into the national finals. She is a two-time All-American. She changed our program for forever. The first year we ever went to nationals in 1997, Charity was the captain and the leader of that team. Her legacy will forever be felt.

Megan Metcalfe inherited a program that had already seen national success. We already had a national champion. We went to nationals a couple times before she arrived on campus, but she moved her generation to the highest level at that point. Megan was a national champion. The crowning moment for her was being an Olympic finalist in the 5k. One of the highlights, I feel personally, in the history of WVU Athletics was Megan Metcalfe running in Beijing. Together, Charity and Megan put West Virginia on the map in women’s athletics.

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

51

2016 CROSS COUNTRY Day Date Thursday Sept. 1 Thursday Sept. 8 Saturday Sept.10 Saturday Oct. 1 Friday Oct. 14 Saturday Oct. 29 Friday Nov.11 Saturday Nov. 19

52

CROSS COUNTRY

Schedule

Event WVU Alumni Race Texas Tech - Invitational Spiked Shoe Invitational Paul Short Invitational Penn State Invitational Big 12 Championship NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional NCAA Championships

Location Morgantown, W.Va. Lubbock, Texas State College, Pa. Bethlehem, Pa. State College, Pa. Lubbock, Texas State College, Pa. Terre Haute, Ind.

2015

Review

A Look Back at 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 2015 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Meet-by-Meet Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Individual Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Accolades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

2015 SeasonReview Reflecting Back

The Mountaineers finished the 2015 cross country season with perseverance. Although they didn’t succeed as much as they would have liked on course, the squad accomplished a lot academically. Twelve Mountaineers were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team and three were recognized with perfect 4.0 grade point averages. Senior Kelly Williams was named to the 2016 Academic All-America Division I Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country First team selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), and sophomore Amy Cashin earned Academic All-District.

With a few setbacks and a few misfortunes athletically, the Mountaineer squad didn’t achieve its goal of making an appearance at the NCAA Championships. The team got off to a slow start in the beginning of the season, making it hard to bounce back once the championship portion of the season came along. Without letting the frustration kick in, the studentathletes managed to keep their focus and used the season as motivation.

“Coming into the season we had high hopes that we’d be at the NCAA Championships,” said coach Sean Cleary. “We were agonizingly as close as you possibly could be to not qualifying, qualifying and not qualifying.

We were the bubble team. We were the last team. For the last three or four spots to be selected, we were in the pool for each decision. We made one mistake at the Wisconsin Invitational, and that came back to haunt us. We just didn’t get it done in the middle of the season when we needed to. I think we came in with come adversity. We came in with some setbacks, and we just never got on a roll. This group is determined to not have that happen.

They’re frustrated, some are embarrassed, never for a lack of effort though.

They worked hard.”

Big 12 Cross Country Championship At the 2015 Big 12 Championship, West Virginia placed third, having three Mountaineer underclassmen post top-25 finishes. Sophomore Maggie Drazba crossed the line first for the Mountaineers and 19th overall with a time of 21:32.5. Sophomore Millie Paladino came in second for WVU and 21st overall, finishing in 21:34.3, followed by sophomore Brynn Harshbarger in 22nd (21:40.4).

Millie Paladino Paladino qualified for her second consecutive NCAA Cross Country Championship this last year and represented the Mountaineers at the 2015 NCAA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. Paladino placed 77th overall with an impressive 6k time of 20:41.6. The Morgantown native braved the competition alone as she closed out the 2015 campaign for the Mountaineers

selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). It was Williams’ second consecutive year of earning the honor while sporting a perfect 4.0 GPA, and she was the first WVU track and field and cross country student-athlete to receive back-to-back honors. Junior Amy Cashin was named to the Academic All-District First Team with a 3.87 GPA. “I think it starts with the commitment from the student-athletes when they walk through the door,” Cleary said. “They understand that they’re here to run and are here to be a Mountaineer. First and foremost they know that for the rest of their lives they’re going to need an education. Many are going to go on and get other degrees and go on to professional schools somewhere. They’re not going to lose the opportunity to better themselves.

I’m very proud at the fact that these girls have this reputation. The team had a cumulative GPA of 3.36 last fall, and there were lot of 4.0 GPAs. The freshman class was out of this world academically. I don’t see it ending.”

Twelve Mountaineers were named to the 2015 Academic All-Big 12 First Team, including three who were highlighted for their perfect 4.0 SPAs. Cashin, Alyssa Diehl, Maggie Drazba, Rachel Faulds, Brynn Harshbarger, Brianna Kerekes, Corinne Kule, Millie Paladino, Savanna Plombon, Sydney Scott, Paige Szabat and Williams were recognized on the Academic All-Big 12 First Team, with Cashin, Kule and Williams honored for maintaining 4.0. GPA’s.

“The sport goes hand-in-hand,” said Cleary. “Any individual that has to go out and run 60 to 70 minutes on Christmas morning before you open up presents, probably has the discipline to be studying at all hours into the evening to get ready for a test. We’re fortunate enough to have them.

Kelly Williams as an Elite 89 Award winner and an Academic All-American, and Amy Cashin followed her footsteps. I think the phrase student-athlete should mean something. They get to spend four or five years here, and then they get to go live 50 or 60 more years, and they need to have something going forward. I’m proud to be with a group that takes advantage of the opportunities that we have at WVU with the academic counseling, the academic advising and the study center. The opportunities that our advisors give to them, they take advantage of. That’s all you can ask for.”

Hall of Famers Two WVU cross country and track and field alums, Charity Wachera and Megan Metcalfe (Wright) were inducted to the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2015-16. Most recently, Wachera was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. She became WVU’s first female cross country All-American in 1997.

During her career, Wachera captured the 1995 Atlantic 10 3,000-meter run championship and won the 10,000-meter run at the 1996 and 1997 ECAC Outdoor Championships. She won the 5,000 meters at the 1996 ECAC Indoor Championships with a time of 16:39.87.

Academics Graduate student Kelly Williams was named to the 2016 Academic AllAmerica Division I Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country First team

54

CROSS COUNTRY

Metcalfe, inducted into WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, won a national championship and nine All-America honors during her collegiate career. She

became the first Mountaineer to achieve two All-America honors in cross country. Metcalfe competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing for Canada, making the finals of the 5,000-meter race and running a personalbest time of 15:11.23 in the opening heat.

Brault took the spring of 2012 off to go and try to make the Olympic Team.

Then she came back a month later after not making the team, and ran for WVU cross country in 2012 and then ran track in 2013. She graduated in spring of 2013.

“That’s two in row which is great,” said Cleary. “Charity has been in the pool for a while. She helped change the program years ago. We had never been to nationals when Charity stepped onto this campus. She graduated as a fifth year, leading a ton of freshmen girls into the national finals. She herself is a two-time All-American. She changed our program for forever. The first year we ever went to nationals in 1997, Charity was the captain and the leader of that team. Her legacy will forever be felt.

“The third generation was the generation that Sarah-Anne Brault and Jessica O’Connell ran in,” said Cleary. “At times they were absolute stars in the program and at others times they were a phenomenal supporting cast.

Probably the highest level, consistently, in program history was with those two on the team.

“Megan Metcalfe inherited a program that had already seen national success. We had already had a national champion. We went to nationals a couple times before she arrived on campus, but she moved her generation to the highest level at that point. She herself was a national champion.

The crowning moment was being an Olympic finalist in the 5k. One of the highlights, I feel personally, in the history of WVU athletics, was Megan Metcalfe running in Beijing. Together, Charity and Megan put West Virginia on the map in women’s athletics.”

2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympians For the first time in Mountaineer track and field and cross country program history, two athletes competed at the same Olympic Games. Graduates Sarah-Anne Brault and Jessica O’Connell punched their tickets to compete at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. Brault competed in the women’s triathlon final, placing 42nd with a time of 2:04.28, and O’Connell raced in the first round of the women’s 5,000-meter run, finishing in 26th place with a time of 15:51.18.

“Sarah for a while here was a Canadian national champion in the triathlon.

She picked West Virginia for a reason. I had communicated with the WVU swimming and diving coach Vic Riggs, who said he would help train her, and he did. Boy he did a great job helping her. He’s a big part in why she came here and a big part in helping her throughout her time at WVU. It’s not easy.

She was a phenomenal student and was a national qualifier. She’s an AllAmerican on the track in the 10k. All the while, she found a way to be in the pool. Jess also ran at the NCAA finals in her final race at WVU in the 5k.

“They both were awesome. They knew what they wanted. They both knew coming into the program that they wanted to be Olympic-level runners.

It’s incredible. They graduate, they move one and they work hard to make the team. The great thing is a lot of these athletes postpone graduation and other things, which is fine that’s a personal decision, but in their case Jess went and got another master’s degree in exercise physiology. She progressed in her personal life, too. Sarah came close to going to the last Olympics and four years later, thank goodness, this dream of hers has come true, and she was on the line in Rio.”

CorinneKULE at the Big 12 Championship.

WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

55

2015Breakdown

MEET-BY-MEET 2015 Results Date Sept. 11 Oct. 3 Oct. 16 Oct. 17 Oct. 31 Nov. 13 Nov. 21

Event (Place) PSU Spiked Shoe Invitational (University Park, Pa.) Greater Louisville Classic (Louisville, Ky.) Wisconsin adidas Invitational (Madison, Wis.) Penn State Open (University Park, Pa.) Big 12 Championship (Stillwater, Okla.)

NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional (Princeton, N.J.) NCAA Cross Country Championships (Louisville, Ky.) PSU Spiked Shoe Invitational September 11 | University Park, Pa. Blue-White Golf Course (6k)

T eam Standings 1. Penn State 2. Syracuse 3. West Virginia 4. Grove City

W VU Finishers (Place) 1. Savanna Plombon (12th) 2. Rachel Faulds (17th) 3. Corinne Kule (19th) 4. Renee Maisonneuve (20th) 5. Allie Diehl (21st)

Greater Louisville Classic (Blue Race)

Points 21 34 89 100

T eam Standings 1. West Virginia 2. Mississippi 3. Oakland 4. Tennessee 5. Taylor 6. Lipscomb 7. Tennessee Martin 8. Indiana Wesleyan 9. Grand Valley St. 10. Texas Tech

W VU Finishers (Place) 1. Maggie Drazba (2nd) 2. Brynn Harshbarger (4th) 3. Amy Cashin (5th) 4. Kelly Williams (8th) 5. Savanna Plombon (13th) 6. Brianna Kerekes (14th) 7. Rachel Faulds (38th) 8. Allie Diehl (73) 9. Corinne Kule (78) 10. Rebecca Wendt (83)

Points 32 94 97 119 207 210 222 322 337 356

October 3 | Louisville, Ky. E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park (5k)

(Points) 3rd (89) 1st (32) 27th (601) 5th (245) 3rd (118) 5th (134) 77th (Paladino)

Time 22:18 22:41 23:21 23:22 23:34

Wisconsin adidas Invitational October 16 | Madison, Wis. Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Course (6k)

Team Standings 1. New Mexico 2. Arkansas 3. Virginia 4. N.C. State 5. Providence 6. Boise State 7. Iowa State 8. Washington 9. BYU 10. Penn State 2 7. West Virginia

W VU Finishers (Place) 1. Rachel Faulds (53rd in Open) 1. Brynn Harshbarger (97th) 2. Maggie Drazba (115th) 3. Millie Paladino (124th) 4. Amy Cashin (126th) 5. Savanna Plombon (139th) 6. Anna French (159th) 7. Kelly Williams (202nd)

Time 17:36.79 17:53.03 17:57.21 18:03.92 18:09.45 18:10.84 18:42.75 19:06.13 19:09.36 19:12.26 Brianna KEREKES at the 2015 Big 12 Championship.

56

CROSS COUNTRY

Points 32 188 217 240 264 275 283 293 316 352 601 Time 22:21.9 20:57.6 21:08.5 21:13.5 21:15.2 21:22.1 21:32.4 21:57.1

Anna FRENCH at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational.

Penn State Open October 17 | University Park, Pa. Blue-White Golf Course (6k)

Team Standings 1. Penn State 2. Saint Francis (Pa.) 3. Youngstown St. 4. Bucknell (West Virginia did not compete for a team score)

VU Finishers (Place) Time W 1. Corinne Kule (6th) 2. Allie Diehl (11th)

Big 12 Cross Country Championship

October 31 | Stillwater, Okla.

Oklahoma State Cross Country Course (6k)

T eam Standings 1. Oklahoma State 2. Iowa State 3. West Virginia 4. Kansas 5. Oklahoma 6. Texas 7. Kansas State 8. Baylor 9. Texas Tech 10. TCU

W VU Finishers (Place) 1. Maggie Drazba (19th) 2. Millie Paladino (21st) 3. Brynn Harshbarger (22nd) 4. Amy Cashin (26th) 5. Anna French (31st) 6. Savanna Plombon (33rd) 7. Kelly Williams (35th) 8. Brianna Kerekes (37th) 9. Corinne Kule (71st) 10. Rachel Faulds (77th)

Points 37 54 60 69

22:41 23:07

Points 34 52 118 129 152 158 193 195 196 292 Time 21:32.5 21:34.3 21:40.4 21:47.6 21:55.2 22:05.0 22:07.2 22:10.4 23:22.5 23:47.7

NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional

November 13| Princeton, N.J.

West Windsor Fields (6k) Team Standings

1. Penn State 2. Georgetown 3. Princeton 4. Villanova 5. West Virginia 6. UPA 7. Pitt 8. Bucknell 9. La Salle 10. Navy

W VU Finishers (Place) 1. Millie Paladino (11th) 2. Savanna Plombon (23rd) 3. Amy Cashin (27th) 4. Brynn Harshbarger (36th) 5. Maggie Drazba (37th) 6. Anna French (47th) 7. Kelly Williams (58th) All-Region Honors: Millie Paladino and Savanna Plombon

2015 Meet-by-Meet Results

NCAA Cross Country Championships November 21 | Louisville, Ky. E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park (6k)

W VU Finishers (Place) Millie Paladino (77th)

Team Standings 1. New Mexico 2. Colorado 3. Oregon 4. Providence 5. N.C. State 6. Michigan 7. Oklahoma State 8. Notre Dame 9. Arkansas 10. Washington

WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

Points 60 75 80 125 134 158 203 323 328 334 Time 21:16.2 21:25.2 21:45.7 21:59.2 22:00.4 22:09.3 22:22.0

Time 20:41.6 Points 49 129 214 231 264 264 274 276 276 297

@WVUCrossCountry

57

2015 Indivdual Times Amy Cashin (So.) Event

Greater Louisville Classic Wisconsin adidas Invite Big 12 Championship Mid-Atlantic Regional

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 5th 5th 17:57.21 4th 126th 21:08.5 3rd 26th 20:54.9 1st 27th 21:45.7

Maggie Drazba (So.) Event

Greater Louisville Classic Wisconsin adidas Invite Big 12 Championship Mid-Atlantic Regional

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 1st 2nd 17:36.79 2nd 115th 21:08.5 1st 19th 21:32.5 5th 37th 22:00.4

Brynn Harshbarger (So.) Event

Greater Louisville Classic Wisconsin adidas Invite Big 12 Championship Mid-Atlantic Regional

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 2nd 4th 17:53.03 1st 97th .20:57.6 2nd 22nd 21:40.4 4th 36th 21:59.2

Corinne Kule (So.) Event

PSU Spiked Shoe Greater Louisville Classic Penn State Open Big 12 Championship

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 3rd 19th 23:21 9th 78th 19:09.36 1st 6th 22:41 9th 71st 23:22.5

Accolades

2015-16 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team Anna French Olivia Hill All-Mid Atlantic Savanna Plombon

Millie Paladino

Academic All-Big 12 First Team Honors Amy Cashin 4.0 Corinne Kule 4.0 Allie Diehl Millie Paladino Maggie Drazba Savana Plombon Rachel Faulds Sydney Scott Brynn Harshbarger Paige Szabat Brianna Kerekes Kelly Williams 4.0 2016 Track and Field/ Cross Country CoSIDA Academic All-American Kelly Williams 2016 Track and Field/ Cross Country CoSIDA Academic All-District Kelly Williams and Amy Cashin 2015-16 Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll Amy Cashin 4.0 Renee Maisonneuve Allie Diehl Peyton Panger Maggie Drazba Andrea Pettit 4.0 Jillian Forsey Savanna Plombon 4.0 Anna French 4.0 Sydney Scott Peyton Hampson 4.0 Paige Szabat 4.0 Brynn Harshbarger Rebecca Wendt Olivia Hill Kelly Williams 4.0 Briana Kerekes Megan Yuan Corinne Kule

58

CROSS COUNTRY

Millie Paladino (So.) Event WVU Overall Time

Finish Finish Wisconsin adidas Invite 3rd 124th 21:13.5 Big 12 Championship 2nd 21st 21:34.3 Mid-Atlantic Regional 1st 11th 21:16.2 NCAA Championship Individual 77th 20:41.6 Rebecca Wendt (So.) Event

Greater Louisville Classic

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 10th 83rd 19:12.26

Allie Diehl (So.) Event

PSU Spiked Shoe Greater Louisville Classic Penn State Open

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 5th 21st 23:34 8th 73rd 19:06.13 2nd 11th 23:07

Rachel Faulds (So.) Event

PSU Spiked Shoe Greater Louisville Classic Big 12 Championship

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 2nd 17th 22:41 6th 38th 18:42.75 10th 77th 23:47.7

Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award Brianna Kerekes Peyton Hampson Corinne Kule Allie Diehl Sydney Scott Maggie Drazba 2015 Hall of Fame Class Megan (Metcalfe) Wright Charity Wachera

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 6th 14th 18:10.84 8th 37th 22:10.4

Renee Maisonneuve (So.) Event WVU Overall Time

Finish Finish PSU Spiked Shoe 4th 20th 23:44 Savanna Plombon (Sr.) Event

PSU Spiked Shoe Greater Louisville Classic Wisconsin adidas Invite Big 12 Championship Mid-Atlantic Regional

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 1st 12th 22:18 5th 13th 18:09.45 5th 139th 21:22.1 6th 33rd 22:05 2nd 23rd 21:25.2

Kelly Williams (Sr.) Event

Greater Louisville Classic Wisconsin adidas Invite Big 12 Championship Mid-Atlantic Regional

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 4th 8th 18:03.92 7th 202nd 21:57.1 7th 35th 22:07.2 7th 58th 22:22

2015 Division I Women’s All-Academic Team Award 2014 Fall Semester- 3.68 GPA 2014 USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors Kaitlyn Gillespie Brynn Harshbarger Maggie Drazba Sydney Scott Jillian Forsey

2014 2014 2014

2014-15 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team Millie Paladino Big 12 Scholar-Athlete Honor Kaitlyn Gillespie Big 12 Women’s Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year Kaitlyn Gillespie Brianna Kerekes Renee Maisonneuve* Lydia Martinelli Sydney Scott Kelly Williams*

Brianna Kerekes (Jr.) Event

Greater Louisville Classic Big 12 Championship

Dr. Gerald Large Award Kelly Williams

2014 Accolades for 2015 Media Guide All-Mid-Atlantic Region Jillian Forsey Sydney Scott Brynn Harshbarger Kaitlyn Gillespie Maggie Drazba

Academic All-Big 12 Kaitlyn Gillespie Allie Diehl* Maggie Drazba* Jillian Forsey* Brynn Harshbarger *4.0 GPA

WVU Overall Time Finish Finish 6th 159th 21:32.4 6th 47th 22:09.3 5th 31st .21:55.2

Elite 89 Award Kelly Williams

(2000-05)

All-Big 12 Jillian Forsey Maggie Drazba Katie Gillespie

Anna French (Fr.) Event

Wisconsin adidas Invite Mid-Atlantic Regional Big 12 Championship

OTHER HONORS CoSIDA Academic All-America Kelly Williams First Team Kelly Williams First Team Jillian Forsey Third Team Kaitlyn Gillespie Second Team Sarah-Anne Brault Second Team Kaitlyn Gillespie First Team Katie Harrison Second Team Kaylyn Christopher Third Team Ahna Lewis Third Team Sarah-Anne Brault Second Team Keri Bland Third Team April Rotilio Third Team Marie Louise Asselin Second Team Kaylyn Christopher Third Team Megan Metcalfe Third Team

2016 2015 2015 2015 2013 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2005

CoSIDA Academic All-District Amy Cashin First Team Charity Wachera First Team

2016 1998

RECORD

Book

NCAA Honors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Conference Honors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 All-Americans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

HALL OFFame Megan Metcalfe (Wright) ����������������������������������������� (2015) Charity Wachera ����������������������������������������������������� (2016)

Bold/Italic indicate current runners

NCAAHonors ALL-AMERICANS

Megan Metcalfe ������������������������������������������������������ 2002

Sydney Scott �������������������������������������� 2012, 2014 Kaitlyn Gillespie ����������������������� 2010, 2011, 2014 Kelly Williams �������������������������������������� 2012. 2013 Sarah Martinelli ������������������������������������������ 2013 Sarah-Anne Brault ������������������� 2010, 2011, 2012 Ahna Lewis ���������������������������������������� 2008, 2011 Kate Harrison ��������������������������� 2008, 2009, 2011 Kaylyn Christopher ������������������ 2008, 2009, 2011 Clara Grandt ��������������������������� 2007, 2008, 2009 Marie-Louise Asselin ����� 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Keri Bland ����������������������� 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Susan Davis �������������������������������������� 2004, 2005 Jennifer Davis ��������������������������������������������� 2004 Tara Struyk ������������������������������ 2002, 2003, 2004 Megan Metcalfe ����������� 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 Merissa Sexsmith ����������������������������� 1999, 2000 Rebecca Stallwood ���������������������������� 1999, 2000 Karin Lockhart ���������������������������������� 1998, 2000 Kate Vermeulen �������������������������������������������� 1998 Charity Wachera ����������������������������������������� 1998 Nancy Knapp ��������������������������������������������� 1998 Francine Darroch ����������������������������������������� 1998

NCAA ALL-MID-ATLANTIC REGION

NCAA TEAM QUALIFIERS

Jillian Forsey ���������������������������������������������� 2014 Kaitlyn Gillespie ����������������������� 2010, 2011, 2014 Kate Harrison ������������������������������������������������ 2011 Marie-Louise Asselin ��������������� 2007, 2008, 2009 Keri Bland ��������������������������������� 2007, 2008, 2009 Clara Grandt ����������������������������������������������� 2009 Megan Metcalfe �������������������������������� 2002, 2004 Charity Wachera ����������������������������������������� 1997

DIVISION I DISTRICT II COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR

Martin Pushkin/Sean Cleary ��������������� 1995, 1997, 2000

MID-ATLANTIC REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Sean Cleary ��������������������������������������� 2004, 2007, 2008

NCAA MID-ATLANTIC TEAM CHAMPIONS 2004, 2008

NCAA ALL-MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPION

Millie Paladino ��������������������������������������������� 2015 Savanna Plombon ��������������������������������������� 2015 Maggie Drazba ������������������������������������������ 2014 Brynn Harshbarger ����������������������������������� 2014 Jillian Forsey ����������������������������������� 2013, 2014

1997, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014

CONFERENCEHonors ALL-BIG 12

Jillian Forsey ��������������������������������������������������� 2014 Maggie Drazba ������������������������������������������������� 2014

Kaitlyn Gillespie �������������������������������������������������������� 2014 Sarah Martinelli �������������������������������������������������������� 2013 Sarah-Anne Brault ��������������������������������������������������� 2012

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS

Kelly Williams ����������������������������������������������������������� 2014 Jillian Forsey ������������������������������������������������������������ 2014 Kaitlyn Gillespie �������������������������������������������������������� 2014

BIG EAST TEAM CHAMPIONS 2007

BIG EAST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Megan Metcalfe �������������������������������������������������������� 2000

BIG EAST WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION Marie-Louise Asselin 2008

60

CROSS COUNTRY

INDIVIDUAL NCAA QUALIFIERS

Millie Paladino ��������������������������������������������� 2015 Kaitlyn Gillespie ������������������������������������������ 2010 Sarah-Anne Brault ����������������������������� 2010, 2012 Susan Davis ������������������������������������� 2003, 2005 Megan Metcalfe ������������������������������� 2002, 2003 Tara Struyk �������������������������������������������������� 2003 Merissa Sexsmith ��������������������������������������� 1999 Rebecca Stallwood �������������������������������������� 1999 Kate Vermeulen �������������������������������������������� 1998 Charity Wachera ������������������������������� 1995, 1997 Vicki Stum ��������������������������������������������������� 1990

NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Rebecca Stallwood �������������������������������������� 2001

NCAA ELITE 89 AWARD

Kelly Williams ����������������������������������������������� 2014 Ahna Lewis ��������������������������������������������������� 2011

WVU AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP:

1997 ������������������������������������������� 20th (485 points) 2000 ����������������������������������������� 21st (491 points) 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Metcalfe (9th) 2003 . . . . . . . . Metcalfe (32nd), Davis (70th) 2004 ����������������������������������������� 15th (388 points) 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Davis (74th) 2007 ������������������������������������������� 9th (375 points) 2008 ����������������������������������������� 4th (198 points) 2009 ������������������������������������������� 6th (259 points) 2010 ������������������������� Gillespie (34th), Brault (71st) 2011 ��������������������������������������������� 8th (297 points) 2012 �������������������������������������������������� Brault (76th) 2013 ����������������������������������������� 24th (621 points) 2014 ��������������������������������������������� 8th (277 points) 2015 ������������������������������������ Millie Paladino (77th)

ATLANTIC 10 TEAM CHAMPIONS 1994

ATLANTIC 10 INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS

Vicki Stum ��������������������������������������������������������������� 1991

BIG EAST TEAM ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD

ATLANTIC 10 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

BIG EAST INSTITUTIONAL FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

ALL-ATLANTIC 10

2011

Charity Wachera ������������������������������������������������������ 1997 Ahna Lewis �������������������������������������������������������������� 2011

ALL-BIG EAST

Kaitlyn Gillespie ���������������������������������������������� 2010, 2011 Sarah-Anne Brault ��������������������������������������������������� 2011 Kate Harrison ����������������������������������������������������������� 2011 Marie-Louise Asselin ��������������������������� 2007, 2008, 2009 Keri Bland ��������������������������������������������� 2007, 2008, 2009 Clara Grandt ���������������������������������������� 2007, 2008, 2009 Susan Davis �������������������������������������������������������������� 2005 Tara Struyk ����������������������������������������������������� 2002, 2003 Megan Metcalfe �������������������������� 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 Rebecca Stallwood ���������������������������������������� 1999, 2000 Merissa Sexsmith ����������������������������������������������������� 1999 Charity Wachera ������������������������������������������������������ 1997

Charity Wachera ������������������������������������������������������ 1994 Heather Bury ����������������������������������������������������������� 1993 1994 ���������������������������������������������� Charity Wachera, 2nd ������������������������������������������������������������ Carisa Brown, 5th ������������������������������������������������������������� Heather Bury, 7th Kerryn Davidson, 10th 1993 ������������������������������������������������ Kerryn Davidson 3rd Heather Bury, 5th 1992 ����������������������������������������������� Kerryn Davidson, 9th 1991 ��������������������������������������������������������� Vicki Stum, 1st Erin O’Reilly, 3rd 1990 �������������������������������������������������������� Vicki Stum, 3rd

ALLAmericans

CHARITY WACHERA 1998

Charity Wachera was one of WVU’s best distance runners during her career. Wachera was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. The Nairobi, Kenya, native earned All-America honors in the 10,000 meters with a sixth-place finish (34:29.64) at the 1998 NCAA Outdoor Championship. She also set two school records during her tenure. She ran a 16:27.27 in the 5,000 meters and a 34:24.00 in the 10,000 meters during the 1998 outdoor track season. Her mark in the 10,000m still stands today, while her mark in the 5,000 meter was broken by fellow All-American Rebecca Stallwood in 2001. In 1997, Wachera finished 11th with a time of 17:00 to become WVU’s first female cross country All-American.

CharityWACHERA

MEGAN METCALFE 2002, 2004

Megan Metcalfe, a nine-time All-American, is the most prolific distance runner in Mountaineer women’s cross country and track & field history. Metcalfe was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. She is the first women’s cross country runner, and the third women’s track and field athlete to be inducted.

She’s the first Mountaineer to achieve two All-America honors in cross country. The Edmonton, Alberta, native earned her first All-America accolade as a member of the 2001 distance medley relay team, which finished in eighth place. Metcalfe’s second All-America award, and first individual, came with a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter race at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Championship in a WVU record time of 9:09.95. Also an outstanding cross country runner, Metcalfe was named the 2000 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Her third AllAmerica honor came with a ninth-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championship, making her just the second female cross country All-American in school history and only the fourth Mountaineer to earn All-America honors in two sports. She earned her fourth and fifth All-America accolades in 2003 by finishing fourth in the 3,000-meters at the indoor championship and was a part of the school record setting distance medley relay team in that same meet.

Her sixth and seventh awards came in March 2004, when she was fifth in the 3,000-meters and again was a member of the DMR team.

Metcalfe’s eighth and school-record setting All-America honor came at the 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championship where she recorded a 16th place overall finish. Metcalfe capped off her brilliant career with a ninth All-America honor and a national championship when she won the 5,000-meters at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championship.

She also competed at the World Cross Country Championship twice during her tenure at WVU and competed at the World University Games in Turkey. In 2008, Metcalfe reached the top, as she ran in the 5,000-meter race for Canada in the Beijing Olympics.

MeganyMETCALF

WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

61

MARIE-LOUISE ASSELIN 2007, 2008, 2009

Marie-Louise Asselin capped off her cross country career as one of the most decorated runners in WVU history. As of 2010, the Sarnia, Ontario, native owns seven All-America medals, including three in cross county and four in track. Asselin’s last cross country season, 2009, was one for the record books as she became one of only two WVU runners to earn three All-America honors in the sport. Along with teammate Keri Bland, Asselin achieved the honor as she finished in 31st place (20:43) at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championship. The Mountaineers went on to finish sixth, marking the third-consecutive year that WVU finished in the top 10 at the national championship. Asselin also earned all-region honors for the fourth time in her career and all BIG EAST honors for the third time.

Her success continued into the track season as she posted a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter race at the NCAA Indoor Championship (15:50.53) and a second-place finish in the 5,000 meter at the NCAA Outdoor Championship (15:53.93). In 2008, she led WVU to its most successful season in school history, as the Mountaineers took a historic fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championship, first at the NCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Regionals and second at the BIG EAST Championship. Asselin became the first BIG EAST Women’s Cross Country Individual Champion in 2008, as she took the top spot with a time of 20:10. She then placed 17th at the NCAA Championship race with a time of 20:27 to earn her second consecutive All-American honor. She earned her first All-American title in 2007 as the Mountaineers captured their first BIG EAST Championship and finished ninth in the country.

Even though she was just a sophomore at the time, Asselin became WVU’s third All-American in the sport when she finished 17th (14th in the team standings) with a time of 20:39 at the 2007 NCAA Championship. It was a fitting ending to an outstanding season that saw her post the team’s highest finish in the final five meets. Asselin showed glimpses of her abilities just weeks earlier at the BIG EAST Championship where she took second and at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional race, where she placed third in leading her team to an overall second-place finish. Asselin, an all-BIG EAST and all-Mid-Atlantic region selection, was joined by Bland as an All-American, marking the first time in program history that two teammates earned the honor in the same season. In the 2008 indoor season, Asselin went on to place seventh in the 3,000-meter to earn All-America honors and was on the All-America distance medley relay team that took fourth at nationals.

62

CROSS COUNTRY

Marie-LouiseASSELIN

KERI BLAND 2007, 2008, 2009

Keri Bland, a seven-time All-American, continued to leave her name in the WVU record books as she aided the Mountaineers to a sixth-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championship, marking the third-straight year WVU finished in the nation’s top 10. Bland, along with teammate Marie-Louise Asselin, became the only Mountaineers in school history to earn All-America honors for three seasons in cross county, as she finished 34th (20:45). The Fairview, West Virginia, native earned two All-America honors in the 2009 indoor track season, as she placed eighth in the mile and was a part of the distance medley relay team. Bland continued to dominate in the outdoor season, as she earned her fourth honor of the year by virtue of finishing as one of the top U.S. citizens in the 1,500-meter race, marking the second time she earned honors in all three seasons (cross county, indoor track and outdoor track). Bland was an essential part of the Mountaineers team in 2008, when she led WVU to its most successful season in school history as the squad placed fourth at the NCAA Championship, first at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals and second at the BIG EAST Championship. She was the first Mountaineer to finish at the NCAA Championship, where she finished 14th with a time of 20:20. In 2007, Bland and Asselin helped guide the Mountaineers to their first conference title and the highest finish at nationals in school history (ninth) in 2007. At nationals, Bland was the second Mountaineer to cross the line in 23rd at 20:58. Bland, along with Asselin, was named a first team All-American, marking the first time WVU’s cross country program had multiple All-Americans in the same year. Bland earned all-BIG EAST and all-Mid-Atlantic region accolades during the season after finishing fourth and seventh, respectively, in those races. In the 2008 indoor track season, Bland was a part of the All-America distance medley team that set a school record and placed fourth in the country. She finished the 2008 outdoor season by earning All-America honors in the 1,500-meters to become the first female in WVU history to earn All-America honors in three sports in the same year.

KeriBLAND

CLARA GRANDT 2009

ClaraGRANDT

Clara Grandt saved the best for last as she posted the finest season of her career and earned her first All-America honor in cross country. The West Union, West Virginia, native led the team to a sixth-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Championship, the first Mountaineer to cross the line in 13th place overall. Grandt also earned all-region and all-BIG EAST honors and was named BIG EAST Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Sept. 24, for her efforts in the Midwest Open. There she crossed the line in 17:00.1, 19 seconds before Louisville’s Tarah McKay (17:19.4), for the fastest course time in over 20 years. In the track season, Grandt earned her second honor of the year by virtue of finishing as one of the top U.S. citizens in the 5,000-meter race at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championship. She then capped off her final season as a Mountaineer with a fourth-place showing in the 10,000-meter race at the outdoor championship, giving her four total All-America honors. Grandt became WVU’s 24th track and field All-American as she earned the honors with a fourth-place showing in the 10,000-meter finals at the NCAA Championship in 2009. Grandt started off the race behind the lead pack before finding her stride around the 6,000-meter mark. The junior closed the gap, and finished with a time of 33:45.16.

WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

63

KAITLYN GILLESPIE 2010, 2011, 2014

KaitlynGILLESPIE

The Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, native finished her Mountaineer career with three All-American honors. As a junior, she placed seventh at the BIG EAST Championship in 20:14 and followed it with a seventh-place mark in 21:46 at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. To earn All-America status, she came in 27th place at the NCAA Championship with a 6k time of 20:17, improving in placement and time from her 2010 NCAA finish. She was also named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team following the 2011 season.

In her first season at WVU after one year at Cedarville University, Gillespie quickly made the successful jump to Division I competition in 2010 by earning All-America, all-region and all-conference accolades. She became an All-American for the first time following her 34th-place finish at the NCAA Championship, where she finished the 6k course in 20:46. To earn all-Mid-Atlantic region and all-BIG EAST honors, Gillespie came in 10th place at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional and the BIG EAST Championship, widely regarded as the most difficult regional and conference events in the nation. Before a 17th-place finish at the 2010 Penn State National, she had two first-place finishes at the BIG EAST Preview and Notre Dame Invitational.

Gillespie’s final season in Morgantown saw her obtain All-America status for the third time. She garnered All-Big 12, All-Mid-Atlantic Region and All-America honors throughout the 2014 campaign. Gillespie was the first Mountaineer to cross the line at the Big 12 Championship, finishing in fifth-place overall in the conference. She finished third in the Mid-Atlantic Region and followed that up with a 26th place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championship.

KATE HARRISON 2011

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Kate Harrison ended a stellar WVU cross country career with one of the most impressive single-season resumes in school history. A four-time NCAA participant, Harrison recorded the all-time program best finish at an NCAA Championship with an eighth-place mark, breaking Megan Metcalfe’s 2002 finish of ninth place at the event. She also finished the race with a career-best 6k time of 19:50 as she earned All-America for the first time in cross country. During the 2011 season, she was twice named the WVU Athlete of the Week and also earned All-BIG EAST and All-Mid-Atlantic region honors. To earn all-conference, the senior placed third in 19:52, and followed it with a fifth-place finish in 21:38 at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional to earn all-region marks. She also excelled in academics as she was named to the 2011 USTFCCCA All-Academic team.

KateHARRISON

JILLIAN FORSEY 2014

JillianFORSEY

64

CROSS COUNTRY

As a sophomore, Jillian Forsey made her mark as a Mountaineer, earning All-America status for the first time, doing so with a 14th-place finish (20:17.9) at the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country Championship in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, native raced to a second-place finish overall, with a time of 20:18 at the Mid-Atlantic Region to earn All-Mid-Atlantic Region recognition. She also received All-Big 12 distinctions after placing 12th in 20:54.9 at the 2014 Big 12 Cross Country Championship in Lawrence, Kansas. She received Academic All-America honors and Academic Al-Big 12 accolades, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

GENERAL

Information President E. Gordon Gee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Director of Athletics Shane Lyons . . . . . . . . . 67 Athletics Senior Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 WVU Head Coaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Media Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 WVU Athletic Communications Staff . . . . . . 71 Athletic Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

E. GORDON Gee, PRESIDENT

Dr. E. Gordon Gee is one of America’s most prominent higher education leaders, having served as president of some of the most prestigious public and private universities for more than three decades.

When he returned to lead West Virginia University in 2014 as the institution’s 24th president, it was a homecoming of sorts. He was first named WVU president in 1981 at age 36 – at the time, considered among the youngest persons to ever serve as a university president.

He led WVU until 1985 when he went on to presidencies at the University of Colorado (198590), Brown University (1998-2000) and Vanderbilt University (2001-07). He served as president of The Ohio State University from 1990-97 and again from 2007-13.

On his return to the Morgantown campus, he said, “This is not a job to me; it is a calling.” His leadership style bears that out as he works tirelessly to advance the University’s land-grant mission and open doors to the American dream.

In his latest address to the University community, he called for reinventing education for our young people, on our campuses, throughout our state and beyond; transforming health care for our citizens; and cultivating prosperity in our communities. “Doing our best for the 1.8 million people of West Virginia is our noblest calling and our proudest distinction,” he said.

Gee has built a special relationship with the students as well as the state’s citizens, making it a point to visit students where they live, learn and socialize -- and visiting all 55 West Virginia counties during his inaugural year – and at least half in subsequent years.

Born in Vernal, Utah, Gee graduated from the University of Utah with an honors degree in history and earned his J.D. and Ed.D. degrees from Columbia University. He clerked under Chief Justice David T. Lewis of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals before being named a judicial fellow and staff assistant to the U.S. Supreme Court. In this role, he worked for Chief Justice Warren Burger on administrative and legal problems of the Court and federal judiciary.

Gee returned to Utah as an associate professor and associate dean in the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, and was granted full professorship in 1978.

One year later, he became dean of the WVU College of Law, and, in 1981, was named WVU’s 19th president.

Gee serves on several education-governance organizations and committees, including the Big 12 Conference Council of Presidents and formerly the Business Higher Education Forum and the American Association of Universities. He was chair of the American Council on Education’s Commission on Higher Education Attainment and served as co-chair of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Energy Advisory Committee. In 2009, King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia invited

66

CROSS COUNTRY

J.D, ED.D

him to join its international advisory board. In 2009, Time magazine named him one of the top 10 university presidents in the United States.

Active in many national professional and service organizations, he is on the executive committee of the National 4-H Council Board of Trustees and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education, the nation’s largest higher education organization. He has also served on the boards for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Limited Brands.

In 2011, Gee began serving as secretary on the Board of Directors of Ohio’s economic development program, JobsOhio. In 2011-12, Governor John Kasich asked him to chair the Ohio Higher Education Capital Funding Collaborative and the Ohio Higher Education Funding Commission. In December 2012, he began serving on the Columbus Education Commission.

Gee has received many honorary degrees, awards, fellowships and recognitions. He is a fellow of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest science organization. In 1994, Gee received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Utah, as well as from Teachers College of Columbia University. In 2013, he received the ACE Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award and the Outstanding Academic Leader of the Year Award on behalf of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is the co-author of 11 books, including Law, Policy and Higher Education, published in 2012.

He has also authored many papers and articles on law and education.

Gee’s daughter, Rebekah, is the Medicaid Medical Director for the State of Louisiana, and an assistant professor of Public Health and Medicine at Louisiana State University. She is also a Norman F. Gant/American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology/IOM Anniversary Fellow. Dr. Rebekah Gee is married to David Patrón and they have five children.

he GEE FAMILY - Front from left: Nathan, Elly and Ben Patrón. Back from left: Rebekah Gee, Eva Patrón, E. Gordon Gee, Elizabeth Patrón and David Patrón

SHANELyons

DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

Since being named Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Associate Vice President at West Virginia University in January 2015, Shane Lyons has not been interested in headlines, he’s been interested in results.

Working furiously behind the scenes, Lyons rolls up his sleeves every day for the betterment of WVU’s student-athletes, fans and athletic department. In his second year on the job, he keeps his fingers on the pulse of more than $110 million in athletic facility improvements that will be completed in the next year. In fact, his first year on the job can be defined as a year of fan enhancements to the WVU Coliseum and Milan Puskar Stadium as he has worked tirelessly to modernize 46- and 36-year-old facilities. Next up on his agenda are student-athlete enhancements with a new Olympic sport weight and training room.

Also in the coming year, Lyons will continue to work with the Morgantown community on bringing a $45 million aquatic and track center to Morgantown, which will provide health and fitness benefits to all ages. When he’s not in his office, he’s an energized fundraiser where his efforts and honesty are appreciated by Mountaineer Athletic Club donors.

Lyons oversees 18 varsity sports, a department budget of approximately $88 million, 200 employees, and approximately 500 student-athletes. He has already put the finishing touches on a $21 million baseball park and renovations are in the final stages to the football and basketball facilities that will bring long overdue new restrooms, concessions, ADA seating and fan comfort.

Leaving the headlines to others, Lyons, confidently behind the scenes, directed a department in his first year that brought an 18th national championship for rifle, 30 All Americans, 110 All-Conference performers, 18 academic award winners and 109 Academic All-Conference selections.

His work with WVU President E. Gordon Gee’s senior leadership team, as well as the Big 12 Conference and other national committees has brought additional respect and positive exposure to his department and the University. He currently serves on the Big 12 Administration Committee, Finance and Budget Committee and the Game Management and Officiating Subcommittee.

Lyons came to West Virginia after spending three years as the deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer at Alabama where he worked closely on day-to-day strategic leadership and direction of the Crimson Tide Athletic program.

During his time at Alabama, his responsibilities included oversight of a $120 million budget, management of the day-to-day operations of the department and oversight of the Crimson Tide’s 21 sports teams. In addition, he played a pivotal role in a historic renegotiation of Alabama’s multimedia rights agreement that started in 2014 and was involved in several significant capital projects totaling more than $85 million.

The Crimson Tide won seven national titles in five different sports during his time there – two in football, two in men’s golf, one in women’s golf, one in gymnastics and one in softball. He also played a critical role in the hiring of four Alabama head coaches.

Prior to joining the Alabama staff in November 2011, Lyons spent 10 years as an associate commissioner at the Atlantic Coast Conference. At the ACC, Lyons focused on conference-wide compliance and academic initiatives, providing direct assistance to the conference’s presidents, chancellors and athletics directors in matters dealing with NCAA regulatory matters.

In addition, he served as the ACC’s human resource manager and was responsible for the administration, negotiation and mediation of the employee benefits program and managing the conference’s organizational policies and procedures. He was part of the senior administrative team for ACC events, including the football championship game, the men’s basketball tournament and men’s and women’s NCAA basketball events. He also was a member and served as chairman on many prominent committees within the NCAA Governance structure during his tenure with the ACC. Prior to working at the ACC, Lyons served as associate athletics director for compliance at Big 12 member Texas Tech from 1998 to 2001. During that time, Lyons assumed responsibility for the leadership, administration and implementation of a comprehensive NCAA compliance program with emphasis toward rules education and extensive monitoring systems. He also served as oversight administrator for several of the Red Raiders’ athletic teams and had financial and operational supervision of the strength and conditioning, nutritional and sports medicine units.

Before joining Texas Tech, Lyons worked at the NCAA for almost 10 years as a senior membership services representative, where he was responsible for the oversight and coordination of the 25 membership service representatives.

Lyons began his career in college athletics in July 1988 as assistant commissioner of the Big South Conference. With the Big South, he was in charge of conference-wide compliance and championships.

A native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, and a graduate of Parkersburg High, Lyons was a standout basketball player for the Big Reds. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sport management from WVU in 1987 and 1988, respectively.

He and his wife, Emily, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have two children: Cameron and Brooke. Lyons is the University’s 12th athletic director.

Shane Lyons through the Years:

1988-89 Big South Conference (Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Championships) 1989-98

NCAA (Senior Membership Services Representative)

1998-2001 Texas Tech (Associate Athletic Director – Compliance) 2001-11

Atlantic Coast Conference (Associate Commissioner)

2011-15

Alabama (Deputy Director of Athletics/Chief Operating Officer)

2015-present West Virginia (Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President)

The LyonsFAMILY: Cameron, Brooke, Emily and Shane

WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

67

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS SENIOR STAFF

Steve URYASZ

KeliCUNNINGHAM

Deputy Athletic Director

Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director

TerriHOWES

MichaelSZUL

Senior Associate Athletic Director/ Sports Administration, SWA

Senior Associate Athletic Director/ Business Operations

JoeHESKETT

AprilMESSERLY

Associate Athletic Director/ Facilities & Operations

Associate Athletic Director/ Sports Performance

ZachECKERT

Assistant Athletic Director/ Facilities & Operations

68

LaceyGIBSON

Assistant Athletic Director/ Compliance

CROSS COUNTRY

Matt BORMAN

MichaelFRAGALE

Senior Associate Athletic Director/ Executive Director

Senior Associate Athletic Director/ Communications

Matt WELLS

Senior Associate Athletic Director/ External Affairs

KevinMILLER

Associate Athletic Director/ Annual Fund

Greg FEATHERSTON

Associate Athletic Director/ Governance & Compliance

BenMURRAY

Associate Athletic Director/ Major Gifts & Capital Campaigns

Susan HAMMOND

BryanMESSERLY

NathanielZINN

Assistant Athletic Director/ Donor Relations

Assistant Athletic Director/ Communications

Assistant Athletic Director/ Marketing

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

HEAD COACHES

NikkiIZZO-BROWN

JasonBUTTS

MikeCAREY

SeanCLEARY

Gymnastics

Women’s Basketball

Cross Country/Track

SeanCOVICH

JonHAMMOND

Men’s Golf

Rifle

SammieHENSON

DanaHOLGORSEN

Wrestling

Football

BobHUGGINS

JimmyKING

MarlonLEBLANC

MihaLISAC

Women’s Soccer

Men’s Basketball

Men’s Soccer

Rowing

Tennis

RandyMAZEY

VicRIGGS

ReedSUNAHARA

Baseball

Swimming and Diving

Volleyball

WVUCrossCountry

WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry

69

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

MEDIA INFORMATION Media Services

WVUsports.com

The West Virginia athletic communications office will be available through the entire 2016 cross country season to accommodate any media requests. The following are some guidelines that should make it easy for media members to cover the West Virginia cross country team. Any additional questions should be directed to the cross country contact Samantha Strejeck.

WVUsports.com is the place for media and fans to browse for the latest on Mountaineer cross country.

During the Week

Any member of the media wishing to interview a runner or member of the coaching staff during the week should the West Virginia cross country contact Samantha Strejeck, via email (sstrejec@mail.wvu.edu) or by phone (443-763-0648), at least 24 hours in advance.

Cell phone numbers will not be available. All WVU student-athletes have been instructed not to conduct interviews without prior approval of the athletic communications staff.

Receiving Information

Media members may receive women’s cross country press releases, notes and more via email. To receive such press releases, meet recaps and more, simply email your requests to sstrejec@mail.wvu.edu

70

CROSS COUNTRY

Player and coaching staff bios are available at the click of your finger by going to WVUsports.com. After each meet, WVUsports.com is updated with the latest statistics.

Not only will you find this season’s stats, but you will also be able to find the WVU record book where you can gain some historical insights.

Social Media

WVU Cross Country is active on various social media platforms- Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Visit facebook.com/WVUCrossCountry to like the Facebook page. To follow the Mountaineers on Twitter visit, Twitter.com.wvucrosscountry. To follow the team on Instagram, visit Instagram.com/wvucrosscountry.

Athletic Information The West Virginia University athletic communication office is located on the second floor of the WVU Coliseum in room 217.

Mailing Address Athletic Communications Office West Virginia University

WVA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS STAFF

CONTACT INFORMATION

MichaelFRAGALE

BryanMESSERLY

MikeMONTORO

JohnANTONIK

JoeSWAN

KristinCOLDSNOW

GrantDOVEY

RussellLUNA

ShannonMCNAMARA

AshleyBAILEY

CharleyHEALY

LisaAMMONS

CherylWIRE

AmyPRUNTY

Maggie MATELLA

Chris PHARIS

SamanthaSTREJECK

Senior Associate Athletic Director/Communications

Director of Digital Media

Assistant Athletic Director/ Communications

Director of Athletic Publications

Director of Football Communications

Multimedia Specialist

P.O. Box 0877 Morgantown, WV 26507-0877 Overnight Shipping Address WVU Athletic Communications 3450 Monongahela Blvd., Room 217 Morgantown, WV 26506

Digital Media Manager

Associate Director of Athletic Communications

Associate Director of Athletic Communications

Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

Phone Information Office: 304-293-2821 Fax: 304-293-4105 Press Box: 304-293-6480 Cross Country Contact SamanthaStrejeck

Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

Business Manager

Operations Coordinator

Program Assistant

Graduate Assistant Athletic Communications Email: sstrejec@mail.wvu.edu

Graduate Assistant

Graduate Assistant

WVUCrossCountry WVUCrossCountry

Graduate Assistant Athletic Communications

WVUCrossCountry WVUCrossCountry

@WVUCrossCountry @WVUCrossCountry

71 71

ATHLETICFacilities

72

BASKETBALL PRACTICE FACILITY

CAPERTON INDOOR FACILITY

CARY GYM

DICK DLESK SOCCER STADIUM

DREAMSWORK FIELD

MONONGALIA COUNTY BALLPARK

MOUNTAINEER FIELD AT MILAN PUSKAR STADIUM

MOUNTAINEER TENNIS COURTS

MOUNTAINEER TRACK

WVU BOATHOUSE

WVU COLISEUM

WVU NATATORIUM

CROSS COUNTRY

HERE, GOING FIRST IS IN OUR BLOOD. IT’S IN OUR SWEAT. AND IT’S IN OUR NATURE. SO WE WILL GO ABOVE. WE WILL GO BEYOND. AND WHEN EVERYONE ELSE GOES BACK, MOUNTAINEERS #GOFIRST.

LET’S GO.