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ASU's Shelby Houlihan wins Pac-12 Women's Track Athlete of the Year

NCAA cross country champion Shelby Houlihan poses when recognized with at a home football game against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. Senior Shelby Houlihan won a Pac-12 title on Friday with a time of 19:59 in the 6,000 meter circuit in Oakland, California, and finished first in the 1,500-meter race at nationals last summer 4:18.10.

NCAA cross country champion Shelby Houlihan poses when recognized with at a home football game against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. Senior Shelby Houlihan won a Pac-12 title on Friday with a time of 19:59 in the 6,000 meter circuit in Oakland, California, and finished first in the 1,500-meter race at nationals last summer 4:18.10.


The accolades continue to pile in for ASU senior Shelby Houlihan, who defended her conference titles in the 1,500 and 5,000 meter runs this past weekend. 

On Wednesday, she was named the Pac-12 Women's Track Athlete of the Year, winning the conference crown in the 1,500 for a third time, setting a meet record in the process. 

“For Shelby Houlihan to be a three-time Pac-12 champion in the 1,500, which has only happened once before, but to do it in the style that she did, doubling back against that level of competition two years in a row, and then to win the 5,000, it definitely says that she’s the best distance runner in the conference of champions," said Greg Kraft, ASU director of track and field, in a release. "When you couple that with her Pac-12 title in cross country, breaking the mile record at the NCAA indoor championships, it’s just been a phenomenal year and we’re excited to watch her run in the regionals, at NCAAs, and in all of her future races. It’s much deserved.”

Houlihan holds the ASU outdoor record in 800 (2:01.12), 1,500 (4:10.89) and ranks fifth in the 3,000 (9:28.94) and 5,000 (15:58.45) runs. At the indoor level, she is the school's record holder in the 800 (2:04.94), mile (4:30.77) and 3,000 (9:03.71). 

Not only did Houlihan leave her imprint on the ASU record book, but she did so on a national scale too, winning the 2014 1,500 outdoor run at the NCAA Championships. She'll look to repeat in the event in June. 

In the fall, Houlihan won the 2014 Pac-12 championship in cross country in addition to winning ASU's regional and placing eighth nationally. 

Reach the reporter at jmjanss1@asu.edu or follow @jjanssen11 on Twitter.

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