Dec 21, 2:15 PM UTC

The Marathon Project

Jan 10, 2026, 6:00 PM UTC

Phoenix Track & Field Invite

Jan 11, 2026, TBD

Kaye & JJ Smith Invitational

Jan 16-18, 2026, 4:30 PM UTC

VA Showcase

Jan 17, 2026, TBD

Susquehann Invite

Jan 17, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC

Moravian Track & Field Meet

Jan 17, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC

PSU T&F Invitational I

Jan 17, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC

Cardinal Track & Field Catholic

Jan 17, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC

Muskingum Meet #1

Jan 17, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC

Spartan Icebreaker

Jan 17, 2026, 8:00 PM UTC

GVSU Bob Eubanks

Jan 23-24, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC

Dr. MLK Jr. Collegiate Invitational

Jan 24, 2026, 12:30 AM UTC

GVSU Bill Clinger

Jan 24, 2026, TBD

Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Invite

Jan 24, 2026, TBD

Tiffin Track Meet #2

FloAwards Announced

FloAwards Announced

Nov 29, 2009 by FloTrack Staff
FloAwards Announced

The 2009 FloAwards



Flotrack Runners of the Year (FloRunner)


Women:

Jenny Barringer (Colorado)

(PreNats Champ, Big 12 Champ, Mountain Region Champ, 163rd NCAA)
You'd have a hard time finding when people were so excited about women's cross country as they were for the 2009 season. Having accomplished more than most people could dream….6 NCAA records, 2 World Championship Teams, 1 Olympic Team, American Steeple Record, 5th place in the world….Jenny Barringer created a buzz and excitement around the sport when she returned for her final cross country season this fall. Showing dominance throughout the season and coming into NCAAs as the heavy favorite, the questions asked were "how fast will she run and how much will she win by," with no one truly believing that she could lose. Well the unthinkable happened and the best collegiate runner ever finished 163rd in her final collegiate race. At Flotrack we are all about promoting the sport and the winner of the award this year contributed that cause a great deal. The excitement and anticipation of NCAA XC has risen, the saying that "the NCAA XC Championships is the hardest race to win" has never been so true. NCAA XC was more exciting and heartbreaking than ever before. Its year's like this that keeps us on the edge of our seats ever November! Jenny, thanks for coming back to give us one last memorable race.

Honorable Mention:

Angela Bizzarri (Illinois)
(PreNats champ, Big 10 runner-up, Midwest Regional Champ, NCAA Champ)
NCAA 5k Champ, 3rd at USAs and now the NCAA XC Champ….its hard to argue the past 5 months could have gone any better for Angela Bizzarri. After her longest summer of competition to date, Bizzarri started the season with a 2nd place finish at Notre Dame (to Cecily Lemmon, the NCAA 10k runner up) and only lost to one other athlete the rest of the fall (World Champ Steepler Bridgette Franek). With no one picking Bizzarri in the prerace predicition, she showed everyone the mean of the phrase "that's why you run the race". Angela stepped it up when it counted and surprised people around the country with her victory in Terre Haute. To realize how impressive this is, just remember names like Jenny Barringer, Deena Kastor, Joan Benoit-Samuelson She'll go into the indoor and outdoor seasons as the 5k favorite!

Sheila Reid (Villnova)
(1st Big East, 1st Mid-Atlantic Region, 13th NCAA)
Sheila Reid start the season on a tear as she broke the course record for the win at a tough Delinger meet in Eugene. Reid found herself undefeated going into the NCAA Championships (only person other than Jenny Barringer) and helped her Wildcat Women finish off the season undefeated with a National Championship! After the stuff we saw this fall, Reid is definitely a favorite for title in 2010.

Men:

Sam Chelanga (Liberty)

(Big South Champ, Southeast Regional Champ, NCAA Champ)
With Galen Rupp gone, most expected Chelanga to roll through the season easily until NCAAs. This year's top returner and NCAA 10,000m record holder, he won a low key opener, but was run down in the last 600m of his Pre-National meet. From there, he had an easy schedule until he was back in Terre Haute. He destroyed the Big South Conference, winning by 83 seconds over his teammate Evans Kigen (who ended up top 20 at NCAAS). He proceeded to defend his Southeast Regional title, winning by over 30 seconds. At NCAAs, Chelanga ran a more controlled opening mile and then opened a gap on the field. From there he pressed hard and kept building on that lead which allowed him to win handily. Not only did he earn his first NCAA title, but he smashed the course record by 22 seconds. It was certainly one of the most dominating NCAA performances in recent history.

Honorable Mention:

Chris Derrick (Stanford)
(PreNats Champ, PAC-10 Champ, West Regional Champ)
After an amazing freshman campaign, Derrick showed he plans to be a force in the NCAA for years to come. In a match up against Chelanga at Pre-Nationals, the sophomore ran relax at the start and used an unforgiving second half of the race to catch and pass the front-running Chelanga. From that point on, Derrick was unstoppable and came into the NCAA Championships undefeated. He dominated the very competitive Pac-10 and West Regional, winning comfortably. The NCAA meet was more about the team race for Derrick as he decided to not hammer the second half of the race with Chelanga. Derrick battled for the #2 spot and was just outkicked by David McNeill. His third place finish matches his best finish at an NCAA Championships (he was 3rd in the 5,000m last spring) and goes down as his only loss of the season.

Flotrack Coach of the Year (FloCoach)

Women:

Gina Procaccio (Villanova)

(Big East Champs, Mid-Atlantic Region Champs, NCAA Champs)
Just when you thought no one could be close to the dominance we saw from the Washington team in 2008, Coach Gina Procaccio made sure everyone stayed on their toes in anticipation for 2009! The undefeated Wildcats came into the NCAA Championships a slight underdog to the Huskies, but that didn't scare them one bit. The ladies continue their brilliance as their top five runners all placed in the top 30 for All-American honors (#6 was 60th) and a low team score of 86 for the NCAA Championship! Of their top 6 runners, Procaccio only loses her #5 for next year. Looks like we may be seeing that Villanova dominance for a few more years….


Honorable Mention:

Karen Harvey (Florida State)
(ACC Champs, NCAA Runner-up)
Ranked as high as 3rd and as low as 11th throughout the season, only Coach Karen Harvey knew the true potential of her group. Taking a big hit as they lost a number of great runners from the '08 podium team, Harvey had her work cut out with a group of young, inexperience runners (with the exception of superstar senior Susan Kuijken and returning All-American Pilar McShine). Florida State turned a lot of heads when the results showed they had beat the returning national champs and moved up a spot on the podium to grab the NCAA Runner-up Trophy!

Greg Metcalf (Washington)
(PreNats Champs, PAC-10 Champs, West Region Champs, 3rd NCAA)
After the dominance the Huskies showed in 2008, there's no question that there was a target on their backs. Without 2 of their top 7 from a year ago, Coach Greg Metcalf handled the pressure well as he led his women into the NCAA Championships undefeated and a favorite for the title. Even though we didn't see a repeat, Metcalf's team earned their second highest finish in school history along 3 All-Americans.

Men:

Dave Smith (Oklahoma State)

(Big 12 Champs, Midwest Region Champs, NCAA Champs)
After finishing 4th place at their own Cowboy Jamboree there was no looking back for Oklahoma State. Dave Smith led his squad back from a disappointing 2008 finish to claim the school first national championship since 1954. The most impressive part of the victory is that Smith's #1 runner, German Fernandez, only finished 97th which showed the strength they had up front as their first four runners earned All-American Honors!


Honorable Mention:

Jason Dunn (Stanford)
(PreNats Champs, PAC-10 Champs, West Region Champs, 10th NCAA)
With the exception of their 10th place finish at the NCAA Championships, Coach Dunn led Stanford through an undefeated season against the best competition in the country. In only his second year in Palo Alto, Dunn has shown he is ready to carry on the cross country tradition that we have come to expect from Stanford. They'll be returning a majority of the team which means this will be a squad to look out for in 2010.

Joe Franklin (New Mexico)
(Mountain West Champs, 8th NCAA)
The Lobos were no where to be found last year at the NCAA Championships. With not even an individual representing the school last year, Coach Joe Franklin's squad had the biggest turn-around season in the NCAA as the men won the conference over #6 BYU and three weeks later finished a record setting program finish with an 8th place showing at the NCAA Championships.

Flotrack Freshman of the Year (FloFrosh)

Women:

Allie McLaughlin (Colorado)

(10th PreNats, 2nd Big 12, 3rd Mountain Region, 5th NCAA)
Don’t let her size fool you, this freshman is a beast out on the course. Clearly, training with American Record Holder Jenny Barringer has done wonders for her fitness. In less than a year she has gone from 5th at the Foot Locker Championships to 5th at the NCAA Championships in cross country. She had a stead progression all season. The first sign that she would be a top freshman was at Pre-Nationals where she was 10th. From there she placed a stellar 2nd at Big 12s, 3rd in the Mountain Region, and capped by being the top freshman at NCAAs. Since the women began running 6k, only two freshman have ever finished in the top 5 at a NCAA Cross Country Championship, Shalane Flanagan and Allie McLaughlin!



Honorable Mention

Jordan Hasay (Oregon)
(3rd PreNats, 3rd PAC-10, 2nd West Region, 19th NCAA)
Hasay was probably the most well known high school runner since Alan Webb and for good reason. Coming in to college there were high expectations and she did not disappoint. She was a solid 6th at the Bill Dellinger Invite for her college debut. After that, she really came on strong as the top frosh at Pre-Nats placing 3rd to Barringer and Susan Kuijken. Later she was 3rd in the competitive Pac-10 and 2nd at the West Regional. Perhaps her most disappointing race was at NCAAs where she finished 19th, which is still an amazing finish for a freshman.

Risper Kimaiyo (UTEP)
(4th PreNats, 1st Conference USA, 4th Mountain Region, 9th NCAA)
Kimaiyo won her first three college meets before finishing 8th at the Bill Dellinger Invite (that’s right, UTEP ran three races before Dellinger). Then at Pre-Nats, Kimaiyo placed one spot behind fellow freshman Hasay in 4th. Kimaiyo followed that up with a win at the Conference USA Championships and 4th place finish at the Mountain Regional. She then topped her season off perfectly with a 9th place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Men:

Mohammed Ahmed (Wisconsin)

(5th Big Ten, 3rd Great Lakes Region, 30th NCAA)
Unable to do workouts, or race early in the season due to Ramadan, Ahmed came on very strong during the championship portion of the season. In his debut, the Canadian was the first true frosh at the Big Ten Championships placing 5th. He improved on that by taking 3rd in the Great Lakes region, again being the top frosh. He continued the tradition of being the #1 freshman across the line at NCAAs where he placed 30th in leading the Badgers to a 7th place team finish.



Honorable Mention

Mathew Mildenhall (Villanova)
(2nd Big East, 2nd Mid-Atlantic Region, 36th NCAA)
Mildenhall picked up steam as the season progressed. He started out with a solid 16th place finished at Dellinger, but soon found himself leading the Wildcats. He placed 2nd at the Virginia Panorama Farms Invite, Big East Championships, and Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. Second was a theme for the Kiwi this season as he was the second freshman finisher in Terre Haute with his All-American performance that had him at 36th. Mildenhall was only 5 seconds from being the top freshman.

Solomon Haile (Arkansas)
(9th SEC, 2nd South Central Region, 48th NCAA)
Haile had exactly the type of season you would expect from the reigning Foot Locker Champ. He was never outside of his team’s top 3 and was always one of the top freshman in each race. He won the his debut, a 6.6k hosted by Arkansas. At his first major meet at the adidas Wisconsin Invite, he was the top Razorback in 17th. Haile followed that up with a 9th place finish in the SEC. At the South-Central Regional, he ran 2nd to Dorian Ulrey and he then was the 3rd freshman at NCAAs, placing 48th, just 13 seconds behind the top freshman, Ahmed.

Joash Osoro (Portland)
(15th PreNats, 8th West Region, 67th NCAA)
Osoro was a key member to the Pilots’ success all season. He was 9th at the Bill Dellinger Invite in September. From there, Osoro placed a strong 15th at Pre-Nationals and was the top freshman in the competitive West Region, placing 8th. He was the 4th freshman across the line at NCAAs in a respectable 67th.