West Virginia University Athletics

Sean Cleary, one of the sport’s most talented coaches, enters his 18th season at the helm of the West Virginia University cross country and track and field teams in 2024-25. Cleary has been associated with both programs for over two-and-a-half decades. With his expertise in mentoring, training, conditioning, and recruiting distance runners, the Georgetown, Ontario, native has built West Virginia’s cross country and track and field programs into national powerhouses, producing numerous All-America and all-conference honors.
 
During the 2023-24 season, Cleary coached the Mountaineers to a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships. Additionally, West Virginia earned three All-Mid Atlantic Regional honors in Katherine Dowie, Alexis Lamb and Sarah Tait while finishing in fourth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals.
 
West Virginia continued success into the indoor season, as the DMR team of Ceili McCabe, Kishay Rowe, Sarah Tait and Mikenna Vanderheyden won the program’s first Big 12 Championship in the event since 2021 with a time of 11:18.08, earning All-Big 12 honors. Additionally, Cassandra Williamson broke West Virginia’s record in the 800 meters, with a time of 2:04.44, earning conference honors.
 
McCabe went on to finish sixth in the women’s mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships, earning her eighth All-America honor with a personal and program record time of 4:29.26.
 
The Mountaineers boasted a pair of All-Big 12 honorees at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, in Vanderheyden (steeplechase) and Williamson (800 meters). Vanderheyden finished fourth in the steeplechase, while Williamson claimed sixth in the 800 meters.
 
Vanderheyden (steeplechase) and Williamson (800 meters) advanced on to the NCAA East Preliminary Round along with teammate Sarah Tait (steeplechase). Williamson once again broke West Virginia’s record in the 800 meters, with a time of 2:03.49. Vanderheyden advanced onto the NCAA Championships after finishing second in her heat and ninth in the steeplechase with a time of 10:00.84.
 
Mikenna Vanderheyden earned Second Team All-America honors after finishing fourteenth in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Vanderheyden became the third fastest Mountaineer in program history to run the steeplechase, boasting a personal best time of 9:59.90 in Eugene, Oregon.
 
The 2022-23 academic year was a record setting year for the program. Cleary led the Mountaineers to a program record five All-Big 12 honors at the 2022 Big 12 Conference Cross Country Championship. The success continued at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country National Championship, as Ceili McCabe earned All-American and the team secured 27th.
 
The momentum continued into the 2022-23 indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. Mikenna Vanderheyden set the school record in the 600-meter, while McCabe earned program bests in the mile and 3,000-meter run. McCabe also earned All-American in Indoor and Outdoor track and field under Cleary's tutelage. The year was crowned by a 17th place finish in the national Program of the Year rankings, where an institution is evaluated on its performances across the Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field and Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in an academic year.
 
Under Cleary’s guidance, the 2022 track and field season was a success, as WVU finished 10th as a team at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship. Jo-Lauren Keane set a WVU school record at the Big 12 Indoor Championship in the 800-meter, with a time of 2:04.49, good for fourth place. Overall, the Mountaineers registered seven Big 12 honors at the Big 12 Indoor Championship.
 
With Cleary’s coaching, McCabe placed eighth in the 3,000-meter run at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. In her NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship debut, McCabe finished in a time of 9:05.09 to earn All-American honors.
 
Additionally, WVU finished ninth as a team at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship with nine All-Big 12 performances. McCabe was the 3,000-meter steeplechase champion for the second consecutive year and finished in a time of 10:12.87.
 
Cleary’s coaching led seven Mountaineers to the 2022 NCAA East Regional Championship.
McCabe was the lone Mountaineer to advance to the 2022 NCAA Championships, where she placed third in the 3,000m steeplechase final to earned All-American honors. McCabe completed the steeplechase in a WVU program best-time of 9:31.14.
 
The Mountaineers saw a successful 2022 cross country season as the program earned an automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships after placing second at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. The Mountaineers finished in 27th place at the NCAA Championships, where Ceili McCabe placed 22nd for the team to earn All-America honors.
 
West Virginia’s successful season was also highlighted by a historic 2022 Big 12 Championship, as the Mountaineers earned second with 49 points, a program record low-point total for the Big 12 Championship. Clearly led five Mountaineers to earn All- Big 12 honors, also setting a program record.
 
The 2021 track and field season was highlighted with McCabe receiving All-American honors, with her sixth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, at the 2021 NCAA Track and Field Championships. Her time of 9:37.39 ranked as the 12th-fastest time in NCAA history. Seven of those top 12 times were recorded at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
 
The Mountaineer cross country team is coming off a shortened, but successful 2020 campaign due to COVID-19. The team placed third at the 2021 Big 12 Cross Country Championship and were selected for the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships as a team for the first time since 2014. The Mountaineers finished 29th overall. Ceili McCabe, Katherine Dowie and Charlotte Wood collected All-Big 12 honors, finishing inside the top-15 at the conference meet.
 
Despite COVID-19, the indoor track and field season consisted of three away meets, along with the 2021 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship, where the team placed eighth overall. At the conference meet, the DMR team of McCabe, Hayley Jackson, Tessa Constantine and Jo-Lauren Keane claimed the Mountaineers’ first title since joining the conference. Eight Mountaineers were honored with All-Big 12 accolades.
 
Following a canceled 2020 outdoor track season, the Mountaineers hosted four home meets after only being able to host three meets since the Track and Field at Mylan Park opened in 2019.
 
WVU finished ninth as a team at the 2021 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship with four trips to the podium in three events. McCabe led the team to their first-ever Big 12 Outdoor Championship victory in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:08.69.
 
McCabe (steeplechase), Jackson (1,500m), Katherine Dowie (steeplechase), and Peter-Gay McKenzie (long jump) all ranked in the top 48 in their events and participated in the 2021 NCAA East Preliminary round. McCabe was the only athlete to advance to the 2021 NCAA Championships.
 
In 2019 the team placed third at the 2019 Big 12 Championship and fifth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. Candace Archer, Olivia Hill, Jackson and McCabe collected All-Big 12 honors for finishing inside the top-15 at the conference meet. Jackson, Archer and McCabe placed inside the top-25 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional to earn All-Mid-Atlantic Region accolades as well.
 
After a successful freshman campaign, McCabe was named the 2019 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. She garnered All-Big 12 and All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors and was the first freshman to cross the finish line at the Big 12 Championship after finishing in 13th place. At the regional meet, McCabe finished 25th and was just the second rookie to cross the line.
 
Despite the 2020 outdoor track and field season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mountaineer track and field team made significant strides during the indoor portion of the season. West Virginia registered a total of six podium finishes in eight events at the Big 12 Indoor Championship – three of which came from redshirt sophomore Hayley Jackson.
 
Additionally, five Mountaineers finished the season ranked in the program’s all-time indoor top-5 list in their respective events. Jackson is third in the 800 meters (2:08.11), sophomore Sada Wright is third in the weight throw (16.50m), sophomore Myesha Nott is tied for fourth in the triple jump (12.46m), sophomore Peter-Gay McKenzie is fifth in the long jump (5.93m) and junior Ellie Gardner is fifth in the pole vault (3.88m).
 
In 2018, Cleary led the cross country team to a fourth-place finish at the 2018 Big 12 Championship in Ames, Iowa. Hayley Jackson placed eighth overall at the meet, earning All-Big 12 honors. WVU went on to finish sixth as a team at the Mid-Atlantic Regional.
 
The track and field team earned ninth-place finishes at both the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 2018-19. Seven Mountaineers earned All-Big 12 indoor honors and five earned All-Big 12 outdoor accolades. Madelin Gardner, Hayley Jackson and Faith Penny collected honors at both the indoor and outdoor championships.  
 
Four Mountaineers qualified for the 2019 NCAA East Preliminary Round including Gardner, Jackson, Olivia Hill and Shamoya McNeil. Gardner qualified for the 2019 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, earning Second Team All-America honors in the pole vault at each meet. The Williamstown, West Virginia, native also holds the WVU program record in both indoor and outdoor pole vault. Under Cleary’s guidance, Gardner was named the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year.
 
WVU had another stellar academic year in 2018-19, as 18 Mountaineers were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team. Hill was selected for the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, the Big 12’s highest academic honor. Outstanding Senior Andrea Pettit also was named a recipient of WVU’s highest student honor, the Order of Augusta. Hill and Petit were named to the 2018-19 Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-District Track & Field/Cross Country Team, with Petit going on to be named to the 2018-19 Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team. The Mountaineers were named an All-Academic Team by the USTFCCCA.
 
In 2017, Cleary led the Mountaineer cross country team to a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship in Round Rock, Texas. Maggie Drazba led WVU with a sixth-place finish at the conference meet, while Amy Cashin placed 13th. Both earned All-Big 12 accolades before going on to nab All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors later in the season, helping West Virginia place seventh at the regional meet.
 
The 2017-18 track and field season saw a large amount of success at the regional and national level. Amy Cashin and Madelin Gardner represented WVU at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, as well as the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. The duo combined to record four total All-America honors on the year, including Gardner’s First Team performance in the pole vault at the outdoor meet. Gardner finished eighth in the event to earn a spot on the podium, while Cashin placed 13th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, earning a school-record time in the process.
 
At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Cashin finished ninth in the mile, while Gardner took ninth in the pole vault. Additionally, Gardner was named the Mid-Atlantic Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
 
In a year that featured five new track and field records – including two events that were topped on multiple occasions – the Mountaineers also continued their strong showing academically. For the second consecutive year, Cashin was named the Big 12 Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She also earned Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team honors by CoSIDA as was one of 17 Academic All-Big 12 selections from WVU.
 
The 2016 cross country season featured multiple runners reach the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Redshirt juniors Jillian Forsey and Drazba each raced in the Terre Haute, Indiana event, marking the first time since 2010 that multiple individuals qualified for the National Championship in the same season. Drazba placed 58th out of 250 runners, while Forsey finished 97th.
 
At the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals in State College, Pennsylvania, Forsey earned the silver medal (20:09), earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships. Drazba finished 11th, while redshirt junior Cashin placed 22nd. All three were named All-Mid-Atlantic Regional performers.
 
West Virginia also secured a third-place finish at the Big 12 Cross Country Championship in 2016. Forsey led the way for the Mountaineers, crossing the finish line in second place and earning All-Big 12 honors.
 
In track, the 2016-17 campaign saw a pair of student-athletes reach the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as Cashin and Shamoya McNeil represented the Mountaineers in Eugene, Oregon. Both earned All-America Third Team honors for their performances. Cashin placed 19th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while McNeil took 22nd in the triple jump.
 
WVU broke three school records and placed six in the 2017 NCAA East Preliminary Regional. Gardner set the all-time Mountaineer outdoor best in the pole vault, while Danique Bryan took over the No. 1 mark in the triple jump. Cashin broke the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA East Prelims en route to punching her ticket to her first career NCAA Championships.
 
Academically, the squad was again stellar. Cashin and Forsey were CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team honorees, while the two were joined by Drazba as USTFCCCA All-Academic selections. The Mountaineers placed 11 on the Academic All-Big 12 team and saw Cashin win the Big 12 Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Award and WVU Order of Augusta Award, and Drazba earn the WVU Foundation Most Outstanding Senior honor. Forsey, meanwhile, was named the Big 12 Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the third such award in the last five years for a member of the Mountaineer cross country team.
 
The 2015-16 season also 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. Drazba crossed the finish line first for the Mountaineers and 19th overall (21:32.5), sophomore Millie Paladino placed 21st (21:34.30) and sophomore Brynn Harshbarger came in 22nd (21:40.40).
 
At the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional 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, 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 was the lone Mountaineer to qualify for the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, the second straight championship showing for Paladino at the time. 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 All-America First Team (selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)) for the second consecutive year while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Additionally, Cashin and Williams were named to Academic All-District First Team.
 
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 second-place finish at the Big 12 Championship for the second straight year. Forsey finished 12th, earning All-Conference honors, along with Kaitlyn Gillespie and Drazba.
 
The Mountaineers appeared in their ninth NCAA Championships and sixth under Cleary. The veteran coach oversaw a top-8 national finish, two All-Americans and an Elite 89 Award winner. The team earned its fifth NCAA top-10 finish since 2007. Gillespie was honored as an All-American in her final race as a Mountaineer, finishing 26th, along with Forsey, who finished 14th overall.
Williams earned the Elite 89 Award for having the highest cumulative grade point average out of all participants at the NCAA Championships.
 
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 guided the Mountaineers to their sixth NCAA appearance in seven seasons under his direction as well. 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 Championships.
 
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 qualify individually for the NCAA Championships.  
 
The Mountaineers finished No. 8 in the country in 2011 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships – 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 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 Championships, where Gillespie became Cleary’s sixth All-American with a 34th-place finish in 20:46. Brault arrived in 71st place. During indoor track season, three athletes were named All-Americans and all seven athletes who qualified for the outdoor NCAA Championships 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 Championships, its third straight top-10 finish. Clara Grandt, Keri Bland and Marie-Louise Asselin each earned All-America status for their successful campaigns. 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 in what became one of the most successful seasons in school history.
 
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 Championships over three seasons.
 
In 2008, the team had its best-ever finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, 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 runner in school history to win an individual Big East title, helping the team finish in second.
 
In Cleary’s first season as head coach in 2007, he was named Big East Coach of the Year after the program’s first-ever conference cross country championship. Three runners were named All-Big East as the team entered the top 25 for the first time in three years.
 
For the fourth year in a row, the Mountaineers were named an All-Academic Team by the USTFCCCA in 2007. 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.
           
WVU’s distance medley relay team qualified for nationals for seven consecutive years from 1998 to 2004, the second-longest streak in the nation at the time, under Cleary’s watch.
 
In all, Cleary has coached nearly two-dozen athletes who have competed at the World Track and Field, World Cross Country, World University Games and Pan American Championships.
 
Cleary worked closely with former head coach Dr. Martin Pushkin in building the women’s cross country and track and field teams into national contenders. Cleary was responsible for the recruitment and mentoring of NCAA mile champion Kate Vermeulen, as well as All-Americans Rebecca Stallwood, Merissa Sexsmith and 2005 NCAA outdoor champion Megan Metcalfe.
 
Under his guidance, Cleary’s coaching has produced several men’s All-America runners, including four-time All-American 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 and track and field squads, attracting the best in-state, out-of-state and international athletes to Morgantown. He is also 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. Cleary earned all-conference honors in 1992.
 
Prior to WVU, 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 West Virginia in 1992.
 
Cleary resides in Morgantown with his wife, Heather. They have two children: a son, Patrick, and a daughter, Irelynn.

Career Cross Country Record

Career Track & Field Record