Rylee Penn

Rylee Penn races to the line at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals

Women's cross country at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals

The women's cross country poses with their medals after a runner-up finish at the Southern Showcase.

The women's team gets off the starting line at the NCAA Southeast Regionals.

Layla Roebke and Rylee Penn place in the top-15 at the Live in Lou Classic

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

Class:
Graduate Student
Hometown:
Corona, Calif.
High School:
Centennial
Prev School:
Cincinnati

Rylee Penn TFRRS Profile

CAREER HONORS (at Louisville):
• All-Southeast Region Cross Country - 25th Place (2024)
• NCAA East Regional Qualifier, 1500m (2024)
• All-ACC Cross Country Academic Team (2023, 2024)
• All-ACC Outdoor Academic Team (2024)
• ACC Academic Honor Roll (2024)

CAREER HONORS (at Cincinnati):
• USTFCCCA Outdoor All-America Honorable Mention, 1500m (2023)
• AAC Indoor Champion, Mile (2023)
• AAC Indoor Champion, 3000m (2023)
• AAC Indoor Champion, DMR (2023)
• AAC Outdoor Champion, 1500m (2023)
• AAC Cross Country Silver Medalist (2022)
• NCAA East Regional Qualifier, 1500m (2023)

2024-25
Cross Country:
• Competed in five meets, scoring for the team in each of them
• Earned All-Region accolades with a 25th-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships after recording a 6K time of 21:19.0
• Clocked a 6K time of 20:15.0 to place 24th overall and second for the team at the ACC Cross Country Championships
• Finished as the team runner-up at the Wisconsinn Pre-Nationals with a 6K time of 20:47.8
• Raced to a personal-best 6K time of 20:04.5 to place 13th overall and third for the team at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational
• Began her season at the Southern Showcase with a personal-best 5K time of 17:15.7 to finish 22nd overall and fourth for the team

2023-24
Cross Country:
• Competed in four meets, finishing as the top scorer for the Cardinals in three of them
• Placed 31st at the NCAA Southeast Regionals in a 6K time of 20:45.2, finishing just shy of All-Region honors
• Led the Cardinals through the line at the ACC Championships, finishing in 20:56.8 to earn 46th place
• Recorded a new personal-best in the 6K at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, placing 30th while clocking a time of 20:20.2
• Made her Louisville debut at the Live in Lou Classic, finishing 12th overall and second for the team in a new lifetime-best 5K time of 17:18.7

Indoor:
• Did not compete in any indoor events

Outdoor:
• Competed at four meets in the 800m and 1500m
• Set a new program record in the 1500m of 4:14.66 in her season debut at the Bryan Clay Invitational
• Qualified for the NCAA East Regionals in the 1500m, clocking the 22nd-fastest time in the preliminaries with a time of 4:19.13
• Moved to second in school history in the 800m with a time of 2:08.11 at the ACC Outdoor Championships, where she also qualified for the 1500m finals
• Won the 1500m at the Virginia High Performance meet in 4:16.87

Cincinnati Honors:
• Competed for five seasons at Cincinnati in cross country and track & field
• Earned honorable mention All-American honors in 2023 after placing 20th in the 1500m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
• Won four AAC championships over the course of her Bearcats career, all during the 2023 indoor and outdoor seasons
• Named AAC Most Valuable Performer at the conclusion of the 2023 indoor season
• Set five new Cincinnati school records, all during the 2023 season (indoor mile, indoor 3000m, indoor DMR, outdoor 800m, and outdoor 1500m)

Prep/High School Honors:
• Two-time California state qualifier in the 800m, finishing as the state runner-up in 2015
• Crowned the 2016 CIF Division I 800m champion while also winning the 2016 Junior Olympic Region 5 800m title

Personal:
• Nickname is RJ
• Birthdate is August 25, 2000
• Parents are Deborah and Tom Penn
• Has three sisters: Alyssa, Lena, and Virginia
• Pursuing a distilled spirits business certificate
• Also participated in soccer in high school
• Hopes to run professionally or coach at the collegiate level after graduation
• Greatest challenge to overcome was tearing her ACL