Ok. We exist for this very purpose. We need to be talking more about Ceili McCabe. She may be an enigma to Letsrun and the NCAA, but she should NOT be one in the country of her birth. Please, let’s not make the same mistake we did with Cam Levins all those years ago. WE should be the one’s telling the world about this athlete and where she came from. And she is shaping up to be the female Cam L. (Recall that Cam announced himself with a top 5 NCAA XC finish before taking indoors by storm!).
For starters, she is coached by S. Ontarian Sean Cleary at WVU. Sean has been uncanny for over a decade now in making his under-the-radar and often Canada-heavy women’s XC team a national D 1 qualifier and sometimes top 10 contender. That’s also finishers on my end, unfortunately.
What would be truly heroic is if one of our BC members were to get a very short interview with her for posting here-- if for no other reason than that it would scoop the wretched Chris Kelsall, whom you KNOW will be circling!
It’s the unfortunate nature of what happens when some of our best young runners go off and run in NCAA programs - it’s ever been thus, no?
We may see them in and note them high school and then, they more or less disappear for 4 years (there are some exceptions - who do come back home to races from time to time say a Robert Heppenstall, or win REALLY big NCAA titles, say a Shelia Reid), but my guess is due to the demands of a full year of NCAA running particularly for middle and long distance types XC, then Indoor, than Outdoor, the last thing they are thinking of in late spring and summer is to come home and race more! My understanding is June is recovery month and then July/Aug you are furiously getting ready for XC!
Put Alex Lucki in this category. I do recall some great races from here at OFSAA Track and XC when she was in High School. Then 4 years at Maryland. Ran reasonably well - but no big headline performances. Rarely if ever saw her run or race here in Canada for 4 + years, in big National Level races. Then this Fall she has great and notable performances in two National Championship races on Home Soil!
Thanks, Evan! I asked and I received. I want this to be the new norm!
And now we need more lounge. Who’s next!?
P.S. I make the best pancakes in runnerdom, hands down, and have been feeding them to athletes for 30-odd years now (out of my super-smooth cast iron pan, for your ferritin!). And fruit on top is mandatory!
P.P.S. Suck it, Kelsall! (Unless you actually beat us to it, in which case well done!)