June 17, 2011
USTFCCCA Official Release
NEW ORLEANS--In a release on Friday morning the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Villanova senior Sheila Reid (Newmarket, Ont.) as its National Women's Track Athlete of the Year for her accomplishments during the outdoor track season. Reid was also the organization's National Athlete of the Year in cross country last fall.
Reid became the first woman in NCAA Division I history to win both the 1500 meters and the 5000 meters individual titles at a single NCAA Championships meet this outdoor season. At the national championships she clocked a personal best time of 15:37.57 in the 5000 meters, including a final lap of 64.54 to score her first career individual outdoor title. One day later she returned to the track to capture top honors in the 1500 meters with a winning time of 4:14.57, closing from third to first with a final lap of 62.93. She also captured BIG EAST crowns in the same two events last month.
During the indoor track season Reid anchored Villanova to a national title in the distance medley relay and was the nation's runner-up in the 3000 meters. She was a triple champion at the BIG EAST Championships, setting a meet record along the way to a 1000 meters individual crown and also helping the Wildcats win the 4x800 meter relay and the DMR.
Back in the fall Reid won the first of her four national titles this year when she was the individual champion at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, in the process leading Villanova to its second consecutive team championship. She was chosen as the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year and National Scholar-Athlete of the Year for cross country.
Reid is the first female student-athlete from the BIG EAST Conference to be selected as the National Athlete of the Year outdoors. Past winners include Lisa Koll (Iowa State), Jenny Barringer (Colorado), Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech), Natasha Hastings (South Carolina) and Virginia Powell (Southern California).
In addition to announcing Reid as the National Track Athlete of the Year today the USTFCCCA also revealed Tina Sutej of Arkansas as its National Field Athlete of the Year.
Since pulling off the first-ever double in the 1500 meters and the 5000 meters last week Reid has received a steady stream of top national accolades. Yesterday she was announced as the 2011 winner of the Honda Sports Award for track & field, an honor also bestowed on her for cross country. She is only the third athlete ever to win the Honda Sports Award in both cross country and track & field in the same year.
Overall during the 2010-11 cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons Reid has tallied four national championships, five All-America honors and six BIG EAST titles. She is a nine-time All-American and 12-time BIG EAST champion in her career and will return to Villanova in 2011-12 with eligibility remaining both in cross country and outdoor track.
