LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (Dec. 18) – Recent California University of Pennsylvania graduate Alicia Belko (Hainesport, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) and head coach Daniel Caulfield both received post-season awards from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) on Tuesday afternoon, as Belko was selected the PSAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Caulfield was named PSAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year.

Belko becomes the second Cal U standout in as many seasons to garner PSAC Athlete of the Year honors, joining Julie Friend as the only recipients of the honor in program history. Belko earned NCAA All-America honors earlier this month by placing 25th overall in a field of over 260 runners at the NCAA National Championships. Last month, she was tabbed the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year after winning the individual title at both the conference and regional championships.

As a graduate transfer, Belko secured four individual victories and was the team's top runner in all seven events this fall with six top-three overall finishes. She won the Atlantic Regional Championships by almost 40 seconds after capturing the individual title at the PSAC Championships by over 30 seconds, as the Vulcans featured the individual champion at both championships in back-to-back years.

Belko, who earned her master's degree over weekend, was previously a standout at the NCAA Division III level while at Stockton (N.J.). She earned NCAA All-America honors in both track & field and cross country while with the Ospreys and finished her career with a combined five school records.

Caulfield received PSAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year laurels for the second time in four seasons. He helped guide the Vulcans to a second-place finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships, which secured the program's third team qualifier to the NCAA National Championships in four years. Cal U also matched its best-ever finish at the PSAC Championships in 2018 by finishing third in the team standings. The Vulcans last placed third at the inaugural league meet in 1980 when the event only featured eight teams (currently 17 teams).

The Vulcans boasted the top-two runners at both the league and regional championships for the first time in program history in Belko and senior Alyson Pierce (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex). Belko was competing at the events for the first time in her career, while Pierce previously never finished among the top 25 at the PSAC Championships and was 12th overall at the regional meet in 2017.

Caulfield has mentored 12 All-PSAC performers over the last five seasons after the program featured just a single all-league honoree in the previous three decades. Friend and Belko also became the initial two NCAA All-Americans in program history and each standout captured the individual title at both the conference and league championships.