Forish named C-USA cross country Athlete of the Year

[PonyPride]

SMU's Rachael Forish selected Conference USA Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year

Mustang Junior a 2006 NCAA All-America Selection

Dec. 5, 2006

Irving, Texas - SMU's Rachael Forish (Arlington, Texas) of SMU has been named Conference USA Female Cross Country Athletes of the Year as voted upon by C-USA head cross country coaches and released by the conference office Tuesday.

Forish established herself as one of the top cross country runners in SMU history during the 2006 season. The junior became one of three cross country runners to earn All-American accolades for SMU. She finished 35th at the NCAA Championships with a 6K time of 21:24.5 to earn this honor. Prior to that meet, Forish captured Athlete of the Year honors at the South Central Regional after winning the 6K event in a personal-best time of 20:30.4. Katie Swords (1994, 1995) and Karin van Rooyen (2002, 2004) were two-time All-Americans for SMU.

She also became the first Mustang to win a Conference USA title and earn All-C-USA first team accolades by placing first in the league's championship meet, running the event in a time of 17:14.54. For the second-consecutive year, SMU placed third at the conference championship.

[Big10Ponyfan]

One of my favorite athletes at the alma mater. A great talent and a great young lady. So grateful she's running for us.

Congratulations, Rachael. And here's to more success in your senior year.