Tuohy Named ACC's Top Female Athlete
NC State standout track and field and cross country athlete Katelyn Tuohy is the 2022-23 recipient of the Atlantic Coast Conference's Mary Garber Award, which is given annually to the league’s most outstanding female athlete.
“I am honored to be named the ACC Female Athlete of the Year,” Tuohy said. “There are so many incredible female athletes in the ACC and I’m truly honored for this recognition. I have to thank my coaches and teammates for their constant support and pushing me to be the best I can be.”
"We are incredibly proud of the historic year Katelyn has had here at NC State,” Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Laurie Henes said. “She is an outstanding student-athlete, and an even better teammate and person. In a conference full of so many amazing athletes, we are thrilled for her to be recognized as the Women’s ACC Athlete of the Year."
The Mary Garber Award caps an athletic season that saw Tuohy win All-America honors in all three sports she competes in, as well as numerous national honors and national championships.
In the fall, she was the Honda Award winner for Cross Country, the USTFCCCA National Women’s Athlete of the Year and the ACC Women’s Performer of the Year in Cross Country.
The Stony Point, N.Y., native won the 2022 NCAA individual cross country championship, setting a course record with a winning time of 19:27.60. Her individual title helped lead the Pack to its second consecutive team national championship in women’s cross country.
In the winter, she added to her national title collection as she set two NCAA records, claimed two national titles, and was named the ACC Women’s Performer of the Year in Indoor Track.
Tuohy set the NCAA record for the indoor mile, running a 4:24.26 at the Dr. Sander Invitational in January and followed that performance by setting the NCAA’s 3000m indoor record two weeks later at the 115th Millrose Games with a time of 8:51.92. In March at the NCAA finals, she claimed titles in the 3000m and 5000m.
Her two individual national championships helped guide the women’s indoor track and field team to a sixth-place finish in the final national rankings, marking the highest finish in program history.
In the spring, she started the outdoor track season by setting the NCAA record in the women’s 5000m with a time of 15:03.12 at the Sound Running On Track Fest in May. She would later win the ACC individual title in the 10000m, clocking in at 32:56.75. She secured first-team All-American honors in June at the NCAA Championships with a seventh-place finish in the 1500m.
Tuohy also excelled academically in the 2022-23 athletic season as she was the ACC’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Cross Country and for Outdoor Track. She is pursuing a degree in business administration and has been named to the NC State Dean’s List, All-ACC Academic Teams for both track & field and cross country, and the ACC Academic Honor Roll.
Tuohy also won NC State’s H.C. Kennett Award, which is presented annually to the University’s top female student-athlete.
The Mary Garber Award, named for the Winston-Salem Journal sportswriter who was one of the first female sports journalists in the nation, is selected by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association and has been awarded to the ACC’s top female student-athlete since 1990.
Tuohy is the Wolfpack's first Garber Award winner and joins Julie Shea as the only NC State female student-athletes to win an ACC Athlete of the Year honor. Shea won the Anthony J. McKevlin Award in 1980 and 1981. The McKevlin Award has been given to the ACC’s athlete of the year since the league’s inception in 1953. Since 1990, the McKevlin Award has gone to the conference’s top male student-athlete.
NC State ACC Athlete of the Year Winners
2023 – Katelyn Tuohy, Cross Country/Track & Field
2009 – Matt Hill, Men’s Golf
2004 – Philip Rivers, Football
1981 – Julie Shea, Track & Field
1980 – Julie Shea, Track & Field
1975 – David Thompson, Men’s Basketball
1973 – David Thompson, Men’s Basketball
1961 – Roman Gabriel, Football
1959 – Lou Pucillo, Men’s Basketball
1958 – Dick Christy, Football