Junior Ceili McCabe of West Virginia’s cross country team has led the Mountaineers to their first No. 1 ranking in Mid-Atlantic Region for the first time since 2009, following this weekend’s performance.

Finishing first in the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, while posting a 19:57.4 finish time on the 6K course, led McCabe to be named the NCAA DI Women’s National Athlete of the Week, which was announced by the United States Track and Cross Country Coaches Association as announced on Tuesday (USTFCCCA).

Over the weekend, the Mountaineers placed 19th at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, fueled by McCabe’s first-place finish. West Virginia was one of 36 schools competing at the event, with McCabe beating out 266 other runners en route to her first-place finish. 

The other Mountaineers who competed are redshirt junior Katherine Dowie, redshirt junior Mikaela Lucki, fifth-year senior Sylvia Russell, fifth-year senior Hayley Jackson and sophomore Maria Kaylor.  

In the Mid-Atlantic Region of the USTFCCCA rankings, the Mountaineers have now climbed to the top of their region. The Mountaineers are followed by Villanova, Georgetown, who they were able to jump after this weekend’s performance, with Princeton and Penn State closing out the top-five. 

With the Big 12 Championships taking place on Oct. 29, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the Mountaineers are in a good place considering three other Big 12 schools rank in the top-five in their region. 

Texas ranks No. 4 in the South Central Region, Oklahoma State ranks No. 2 in the Midwest Region, with Iowa State ranked No. 3 in the same region. 

In addition to being named NCAA DI Women’s National Athlete of the week, McCabe was named the Big 12 Runner of the Week. 

McCabe, a Vancouver, British Columbia, native beat her previous time of 21:40.5 in 2019 at the same event. McCabe’s national recognition is the first national recognition a West Virginia athlete has received during the cross country season since 2013. She is also the fifth runner ever in program history to be named Big 12 Runner of the Week. 

McCabe and the Mountaineers will turn their attention to Big 12 Championships on Oct. 29 at the OSU Cross Country Course, with the race set to begin at 11 a.m.