West Virginia University Athletics

Erin O'Reilly begins her twelfth season as an assistant cross country and track and field coach at West Virginia University after re-joining the staff in August 2013.
 
Her familiarity with WVU has been beneficial to the team and its student-athletes as the programs continue to excel. O’Reilly has been a part of multiple individual NCAA cross country appearances with the Mountaineers, along with the team’s runner up finish at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships. She also works primarily with the long-distance sprinters and middle-distance runners for the track and field team.
 
Additionally, she aided in the team’s eighth-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
 
In 2023, West Virginia finished in fourth place at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships as well as the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals. The Mountaineers collected three All-Mid Atlantic Region honors, as Katherine Dowie, Alexis Lamb and Sarah Tait earned the accolade.
 
West Virginia continued success in the 2023-24 track season. The distance medley relay team of Ceili McCabe, Kishay Rowe, Tait and Mikenna Vanderheyden captured the program’s first conference win in the event at the Big 12 Indoor Championships since 2021, with a time of 11:18.08. WVU earned five all-conference honors at the meet, as Cassandra Williamson became the fastest Mountaineer in program history to run the 800 meters with a time of 2:04.44.
 
McCabe (mile) went on to earn her eighth All-America honor at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a personal and program record time of 4:29.26, while finishing sixth in the nation.
 
In the 2024 outdoor season, O’Reilly was a part of West Virginia’s 14^th place finish, as Williamson (800 meters) and Vanderheyden (steeplechase) earned All-Big 12 honors. The duo went on to compete at the NCAA East Preliminary Round with teammate, Tait (steeplechase).
 
At the NCAA East Preliminary Round, Williamson yet again set the program record in the 800 meters, running for a time of 2:03.49. Vanderheyden received an automatic bid to the Outdoor NCAA Championships, after finishing ninth overall in the steeplechase with a personal time of 10:00.84.
 
Vanderheyden closed out her collegiate career at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she earned second team All-America honors after finishing 14^th overall in the steeplechase. Additionally, she boasted a personal best time of 9:59.90, marking the third fastest time by a Mountaineer in the event.
 
O'Reilly assisted 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 McCabe earned All-American and the team secured 27th.
 
The momentum continued into the 2022-23 indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. 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 O'Reilly'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.
 
O’Reilly helped lead a successful 2022 track and field season, 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.
 
The season was highlighted when 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.
 
Seven Mountaineers saw action at 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 earned an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships after placing second at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. The Mountaineers finished in 21st place at the NCAA Championships, where Ceili McCabe placed third to earn All-America honors.
 
West Virginia’s successful season was also highlighted by a third place 2021 Big 12 Championship finish. Clearly led three Mountaineers to earn All- Big 12 honors, including McCabe, Sylvia Russell and Mikaela Lucki.
 
The 2021 track and field season was highlighted with Ceili 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 endured 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, 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), 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 squad placed third at the Big 12 Championship in Waco, Texas, and fifth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Four Mountaineers – Candace Archer, Olivia Hill, Hayley Jackson and Ceili McCabe – earned All-Big 12 honors, while Archer, Jackson and McCabe went on to earn All-Mid-Atlantic Region accolades.
 
Even with 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, O’Reilly helped lead Jackson to become one of five Mountaineers to finish the season ranking inside the program’s all-time indoor top-5 list. She closed the season ranked No. 3 in the 800 meters (2:08.11).
 
O’Reilly helped lead WVU to fourth-place finishes at the 2017 and 2018 Big 12 Cross Country Championships in Round Rock, Texas, and Ames, Iowa, respectively. In 2017, Maggie Drazba and Amy Cashin registered All-Big 12 and All-Mid-Atlantic Region performances, while Hayley Jackson earned All-Big 12 status in 2018.
 
A total of 17 Mountaineers were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Cross Country Team in 2017 and 2018. Cashin was selected to the 2017-18 Google Cloud Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-America First Team by CoSIDA, while Olivia Hill and Andrea Pettit were named to the Google Cloud Co-SIDA Academic All-District Track and Field/Cross Country Team in 2018-19. Petit went on to being named to the 2018-19 Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team. Three Mountaineers – Allie Diehl, Pettit and Hill – have earned the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, the Big 12 Conference’s highest academic honor, in the last two years.


On the track, the Mountaineers sent four athletes to the 2019 NCAA East Preliminary Round including second team All-America Madelin Gardner, Hill, Jackson and Shamoya McNeil. WVU finished ninth as a team at both the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships, where the Mountaineers had seven All-Big 12 indoor performances in four events and five All-Big 12 outdoor performances in four events.
 
O’Reilly was a part of a highly productive track and field season in 2017-18. Two Mountaineers – Cashin and Madelin Gardner – combined to tally four All-America accolades, while seven total members of WVU’s squad qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round. Additionally, West Virginia celebrated five school records in two events over the course of the season.
 
While the 2017-18 track and field season was record-setting on the track, the Mountaineers also excelled academically. Cashin was named the Big 12 Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season, leading a group of 17 Mountaineers to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team.
 
O’Reilly also was a huge contributor to WVU’s success during the 2016 cross country and track and field season both athletically and academically. In cross country, West Virginia qualified two runners to compete at the NCAA Championships, earned a silver medal at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals – thanks to redshirt junior Jillian Forsey – added three all-region honors and placed third at the Big 12 Cross Country Championship, led by Forsey who posted a runner-up finish to earn All-Big 12 honors.
 
The 2016-17 track and field season had eight Mountaineers qualify to compete at the NCAA East Region Preliminary Rounds, eight earn All-Big 12 honors at the outdoor championship and seven indoor honorees. Eleven Mountaineers earn Academic All-Big 12 honors as well. 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, junior Amy Cashin and Williams were named to Academic All-District First Team.
 
West Virginia’s accomplishments in the classroom also led to three individual student-athletes being recognized by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their academic success during the 2016-17 season. Cashin, Drazba and Forsey were named to the USTFCCCA Women’s All-Academic Individuals Team.
 
Additionally, the WVU squad was named an All-Academic Team for maintaining a cumulative 3.49 GPA. Forsey earned Big 12 Women’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the third award for the Mountaineer cross country team in the past five years. Additionally, nine Mountaineers were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team, while Cashin was highlighted for her 4.0 GPA.
 
During the 2015 cross country season, O’Reilly helped the Mountaineers to a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship, guided two All-Mid-Atlantic Region honorees, assisted an individual qualifier to the NCAA Cross Country Championships and helped two earn Academic All-District Team. Twelve who were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team. 
 
The NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet was highlighted by sophomore Millie Paladino and senior Savanna Plombon’s performances that led to All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors for posting top-25 finishes. Paladino led the Mountaineers by crossing the finish line in 11th place with a time of 21:16.20, while Plombon placed 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 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.
 
In the 2014-15 track and field season, she helped guide seven Mountaineers to qualify for the NCAA East Region Preliminary Championships, as each were ranked in the top 48 in their respective events.
 
At the 2015 Big 12 Outdoor Championship, O’Reilly coached four Mountaineer freshmen to top-five finishes, all of them earning spots on the podium. She also helped guide Kaitlyn Gillespie to All-America honors after finishing ninth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Championships.

In 2014, she led three Mountaineers to All-Mid-Atlantic Region distinctions, three All-Big 12 recognitions and two All-America honors.
 
In her first season in 2013, O’Reilly oversaw three individual qualifiers to the NCAA Championships and five qualifiers to the NCAA East Regional.
 
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 became 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 Championship 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 in track during her senior year. O’Reilly held seven school records in cross country and track by the end of her career.
 
The Canton, Ohio, native, also 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.