NEW ORLEANS - Senior middle distance runner Angel Piccirillo (Homer City, Pa.) was chosen as the Mid-Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the second straight year in an announcement made on Friday afternoon. The 2015-16 indoor season has been a record-breaking one for Piccirillo, who is a qualifier for the NCAA Championships which take place later this week.

Piccirillo broke the collegiate record in the 1000 meters at the BIG EAST Championships last month with a sizzling time of 2:40.82. She eclipsed the old mark of 2:41.00 which had stood for just over five years and also shattered the 28-year old school record of 2:42.68 that Villanova head coach Gina Procaccio established in 1987. Piccirillo also has run the eighth-fastest times in the nation this season in the Mile (4:36.00) and the 3000 meters (9:06.39). She will compete in both events at the national championships.

This is the sixth time in the last 11 years that the Wildcats have produced the region's Female Track Athlete of the Year. Piccirillo is the first Villanova athlete during either the indoor or outdoor seasons to be a two-time winner of the USTFCCCA's top regional award. The organization recognized the top track athlete, field athlete, head coach and assistant coach in each of nine regions around the country in Friday's awards release.

Piccirillo was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the BIG EAST Championships last month after her NCAA record time in the 1000 meters was one of the meet's biggest storylines. She also anchored the Wildcats to a fourth place finish in the 4x400 meter relay during the conference championships.

Earlier in the indoor season, Piccirillo reeled off an impressive string of performances in the 1000 meters, the 3000 meters and the Mile in three consecutive races. She opened the year at the Great Dane Classic in January and her time of 2:43.04 in the 1000 meters was the second-fastest in school history until her record-breaking performance at the BIG EAST meet. In her next race, Piccirillo won the invitational section of the 3000 meters at the Penn State National. She registered a time of 9:06.39 in her first collegiate race in the event. The time is the ninth-fastest indoors in Villanova history. Piccirillo also won the Mile at the Villanova Invitational with a time of 4:36.00 in her final race before the BIG EAST Championships.

This week's appearance at the NCAA Championships will be the fourth in a row during the indoor season for Piccirillo. She is a four-time All-American, six-time BIG EAST champion and 10-time All-BIG EAST performer indoors during her collegiate career. Piccirillo is also the only athlete in Wildcats history to rank in the top 10 of the program's performance list in every event from the 800 meters through the 3000 meters.