Oregon Wins 2025 Big Ten Women’s Cross Country Postseason Awards
Ducks’ Ayyildiz claims Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Cherotich voted Freshman of the Year
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz and Diana Cherotich were selected as the 2025 Big Ten Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively, the conference announced Wednesday. The awards were selected through a vote by the Big Ten head coaches.
This marks the second straight Athlete of the Year award for Ayyildiz. The senior finished third in the Big Ten Championships 6K this season, helping Oregon to a 1-2-3 finish for a record breaking Big Ten score of 18 points. Ayyildiz also was the top finisher among Big Ten runners at the NCAA Championships, finishing ninth with a 6K time of 18:57.9. In NCAA West Regionals, Ayyildiz finished third, helping Oregon earn second place an automatic bid to Colombia, Mo. for the NCAA Championship.
In her first season running cross country for the Ducks, Cherotich made an instant impact. Cherotich became the first freshman to win the Big Ten Cross Country Championships since 2013. The freshman helped Oregon qualify for NCAAs with a second overall finish in the West Regional and was the fastest Big Ten freshman [19:15.2].
She also finished first overall in the Bill Dellinger Invite on Oct. 10, which earned her USTFCCCA D1 National Women’s Athlete of the Week, Big Ten Athlete of the Week, and Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
2025 Big Ten Women’s Cross Country Postseason Awards
Athlete of the Year: Silan Ayyildiz, Oregon
Freshman of the Year: Diana Cherotich, Oregon