The postseason honors continue to pour in for junior McKinley Fielding, as she can now add Horizon League Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year to her résumé, the league announced Thursday.

Fielding becomes just the second Penguin female to win the prestigious award, and the first since Morgan Cole in 2022. This marks the third-straight year that a Penguin has received a #HLXC Athlete of the Year honor, though, as YSU great Hunter Christopher won the Men's Athlete of the Year award in 2023 and 2024.

At the Horizon League Championships on Nov.1, Fielding blazed through the field en route to winning the conference crown, as her winning 6K time of 20:10.9 was 36 seconds quicker than the second-place finisher, and also broke her previous program record mark in the event by 30 seconds. Her victory put her in YSU XC lore as she became just the second Penguin female to win the individual Horizon League title, joining Morgan Cole in 2022. She also received First Team All-Horizon League honors for the second consecutive year following the league meet.

Fielding also led the Penguins to their third Horizon League title in program history, and first since 2014. The Penguins had 54 points, followed by Purdue Fort Wayne with 74 points, and Oakland with 79.

On the season, Fielding was the top YSU finisher in each of the five races she competed in, including a victory on Sept. 27 at the YSU Invitational XC Meet, where she set a new course record 5K time of 17:35.5. She had an impressive 42nd-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships in Evansville, Ind., on Nov. 14.