Below are the results of the 2005 WV Track Athlete of the Year (McCoy Award). The McCoy Award is voted on by West Virginia Sportswriters.
1. Megan Metcalfe - WVU
2. Rachel Buser - Berkeley Springs
3. Andrew Benford - Ravenswood
4. Eric Ryan - Preston
5. Tony Belt - Berkeley Springs
In addition, below is an article writtern by Justin Jackson of the Dominion Post.
WVU\'s Metcalfe wins Track Award
It was the one final kick that Megan Metcalfe still thinks about today when she competes.
The date: June 12, 2005 the day Metcalfe entered the history books at West Virginia University.
Competing in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., Metcalfe used that final surge of energy to outkick the defending champion, Stanford\'s Sara Bei, and win the NCAA championship in the 5,000 meters.
Metcalfe\'s winning time of 16:31.88 was just 0.54 seconds faster than Bei\'s.
\"It was such a great experience for me,\'\' Metcalfe said. \"I still think about those final moments to this day. Whenever I\'m at the line ready to race again, I think about that moment.\'\'
Metcalfe became just the third national champion in WVU track history. Pat Itanyi won the long jump championship in 1995 and Kate Vermeulen won the 1,600 meters in 1999.
Metcalfe now works as a physical therapist at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown and plans to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Today, she was named the winner of the McCoy Award, which honors the state\'s top track athlete.
The award was voted on by West Virginia sportswriters. Metcalfe will receive the award on May 7, at the Victory Awards Dinner in Morgantown.
Oddly enough, though, Metcalfe\'s shining event wasn\'t the one in which she competed for most of the season.
\"I really have to give a lot of credit to my coach Sean Cleary,\'\' Metcalfe said. \"We worked mostly in 1500s for much of the season to build up my speed. It wasn\'t until later that I started running in the 5,000.
Berkeley Springs freshman Rachel Buser, who finished second in the McCoy Award voting, was a hit in her first state meet, setting Class AA records in the 1,600 (5:08.25) and the 3,200 meters (10:57.43). Buser also took first place in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:20.84. She was the meet\'s high-point scorer in Class AA girls with 32.50 points.
Ravenswood\'s Andrew Benford took third in the voting and was the high-point scorer in Class AA boys with 28 points. Benford, a junior, took first place in the 1,600 (4:26.20) and the 3,200 (9:43.54).
Preston High senior Eric Ryan was fourth. He set a record in the Class AAA boys 1,600 with a time of 4:14.03. The former record had stood for 19 years. Ryan, who now runs at Cornell University, also won the 800 meters in a time of 1:56.36.
Berkeley Springs senior Tony Belt took fifth in the voting after setting a Class AA boys long jump with a leap of 23 feet, 5.5 inches. Belt also won the high jump after clearing 6-8.