RICHMOND, Va. (Dec. 12, 2024) … Hampton University freshman Peninah Mutisya was named on Thursday as the 2024 CAA Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year in the end-of-the-season awards announced by the league office.

A native of Kenya, Mutisya joined the Pirate family and made an instant impact placing second in her first collegiate race at the Spider Open in August. She followed that with top four finishes in the next four meets with wins at Christopher Newport and East Carolina. Mutisya finished second at the CAA Championships, the highest finish for a Hampton athlete in the CAA, and took fourth at Navy.

Her 27^th place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional was the highest finish by a CAA athlete and her second place finish at the CAA Championships was the highest finish in a conference championship since 2017. Mutisya earned All-CAA honors with her finish at the conference meet.

She became the first Hampton Cross Country student-athlete to win a post-season award from the league.