Clemson Track Star Achieves Rare ACC Freshman Feat

Clemson Tigers runner Gladys Chepngetich put together an incredible freshman season for the program.

A water tower on State Highway 123 in Seneca entering the North end of Clemson University is branded with a logo, and trademark tiger paw. / Ken Ruinard / staff

Gladys Chepngetich did something in Clemson women’s track and field that few can claim after taking the ACC Outdoor Women’s Freshman of the Year award earlier this week.

Chepngetich won the award after she ran the fifth-fastest time in the nation in the 800 meters and represented Clemson at Nationals.

She added that award to her other ACC Freshman of the Year awards for cross country and indoor track and field, giving her a rare three-peat within the conference.

The Kenya native has been one of the top middle-distance runners in the country. She won the ACC’s 800-meter title and finished second in the 1,500 meters. While at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, she ran a 2:02.45 in the 800. She actually ran better at the NCAA East Regional, breaking the two-minute mark with a 1:59.81 to finish second.

The time was an outdoor personal best, one of the fastest times in NCAA history and made her just the eighth woman in NCAA history to run a sub-two minute 800.

She also ran for Clemson’s 4x400-meter relay team and ran with the sprint medley relay team that won first place at the prestigious Penn Relays.

After taking a redshirt last season, she started in the cross-country season last fall and got all the way to the national championships.

She came in the Top 10 in each of her first six races of the season.

She finished in seventh at the ACC Championships with a 19:58.4, followed by a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regionals with a 19:52. Her time at the ACC meet led all freshmen.

At nationals she ran a 19:54.75 which left her in 24th place but secured her All-America status.

During the indoor track and field season she became the first Clemson runner to win the freshman of the year award since 2012.

She never finished below third place in either the 800 or the mile and ran her personal best at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational with a first-place finish of 2:01.83. That gave her the second fastest indoor 800 in Clemson history behind Olympian Natoya Goule.

At the ACC indoors she finished third in the 800-meter semifinals to advance herself to the final round of the event. With a time of 2:04.23, the freshman secured a fourth-place overall finish in the 800-meter finals to be named Second Team All-ACC.

Her personal best ranked her ninth in the nation in the event to earn her a berth in the NCAA Indoor Championships There, ran a time of 2:03.31 to secure a ninth-place overall finish and be crowned a Second Team All-American.