WVU runner Ceili McCabe earns personal best, All-American honors at NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship

Ceili McCabe couldn't quite manage gold on Saturday night, but she cemented herself once again amongst the best collegiate mid-distance runners in the nation.

The West Virginia senior took part in the field competing for the Women's Mile championship, and advanced to the final heat during Friday evening's preliminary races. In the final field of ten, McCabe managed to cross the line in sixth-place with a personal best time of 4 minutes, 29.26 seconds. Her mark also shatters her own program record in the event.

McCabe's advancement to finals in the event was her third-consecutive appearance in a final heat at the NCAA Indoor Championship over the past three seasons, a hat trick which she has also replicated at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. In addition, her sixth-place finish was good enough to earn First-Team All-American honors -- it marks the sixth-time in McCabe's collegiate career between both indoor and outdoor track she has been named an All-American, in addition to two cross country All-American selections.

According to WVU Head Coach Sean Cleary, the competition in the Women's Mile at this year's championship meet was amongst the most competitive in history, and following the preliminary rounds, he praised McCabe's ability to perform at the such a high level.

"Ceili handled tonight's race very well, [and] this is the finest NCAA mile field in history bar none," Cleary told wvusports.com on Friday.

Outdoor track and field will kickoff for WVU next weekend, as the Mountaineers travel to Tampa, Fla. for the USF Alumni Invitational set for March 15-16.