CLEMSON, S.C. – Following her incredible first cross country season for Clemson, freshman Silvia Jelelgo has been named the ACC Women’s Freshman of the Year as announced by the conference office on Friday.
This marks the second year in-a-row that Clemson has had an athlete on the women’s side be named ACC Freshman of the Year for cross country as Gladys Chepngetich earned the honor last season.
In her first meet for the Tigers, Jelelgo was the first female to cross the finish line in the women’s 5k at the Upstate Eye Opener with a time of 16:38.9. Jelelgo continued to impress throughout the regular season as the freshman was always one of the top three athletes to cross the line.
Heading into the ACC Championship, Jelelgo had two second-place finishes, one third-place finish and one first-place finish. Jelelgo recorded her best 5k time at the Louisville Classic with a time of 16:14.2 to secure second-place overall.
At ACC’s, Jelelgo ran her personal best time in the women’s 6k as she finished the race with a time of 19:22.6 to secure second-place and the silver medal. Jelelgo was also crowned All-ACC following her impressive performance.
Jelelgo punched her ticket to nationals after tabbing a second-place finish in the women’s 6k at NCAA Regionals as she was the only freshman from Clemson to advance to the NCAA Championship. Running at the NCAA Cross Country National Championship for the first time in her career, Jelelgo finished the 6k with a time of 2o:08.5 to finish 46th overall.
Out of the seven races Jelelgo competed in, six of those saw the freshman finish in the top three.
With the cross country campaign complete, Jelelgo will focus on the 2024-25 Track and Field season as the Tigers are set to host and compete in the Clemson Opener on Friday, December 6 for the first indoor meet of the year.
For all the most up-to-date information regarding Clemson cross country, visit ClemsonTigers.com and follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter and Instagram.
