Mid-American Conference

Men’s Runner of the Week
Andre Bollam-Godbott, Akron
Sophomore – Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick
Akron sophomore Andre Bollam-Godbott helped Akron capture the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country team championship crossing the line first for the Zips and second overall in the men's race on the strength of a career-best 8K time of 24:20.5. It marked Bollam-Godbott’s second top finish for Akron this season. The Zips earned the men's overall title for the third time (2013, 2014, 2018) in program history with 90 points besting fellow Mid-American Conference foe Ohio by three points.
 
Women’s Runner of the Week
Athena Welsh, Toledo
Junior – Louisville, Ohio/St. Thomas Aquinas
Athena Welsh captured first overall with a time of 21:01.5 at the All-Ohio Championships in Norton, Ohio on Saturday September 29. Welsh's victory set the pace for the Rockets and helped secure an overall team win with a score of 27 points.
 

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Other Nominees
Sarah Anderson, Western Michigan
Senior – Grand Rapids, Michigan/Forest Hills Central
In its fourth meet of the season, the Western Michigan cross country team finished fourth in the Women's Gold Division 5K at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday afternoon. Senior captain Sarah Anderson led the way for the Broncos, with a personal-best 5k time of 17:10.3 to take fifth overall.
 
Mackenzie Andrews, Akron
R-Junior – Toowoomba, Australia/Fairholme College
Akron redshirt junior Mackenzie Andrews was Akron's top women's finisher for the third consecutive race at the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships crossing the line in 21:40.9 to place fourth overall. She helped Akron placed fourth in the women's overall field with 116 points, while finishing third in Division I with 77 points.
 
David Coffey, Miami
Junior – Caramel, Indiana/Brebeuf
Junior David Coffey lead the way for the RedHawks at Friday's Joe Piane Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame. Going up against several nationally-ranked opponents, Coffey ran a 24:45.3 over the 5-mile to cross the line as the RedHawks' top finisher.
 
Caleb Covell, Buffalo
R-Sophomore – Rochester, New York/Eastridge
Caleb led the Bulls at the Paul Short Invite with a 24th place finish overall in a deep competitive field of 360 runners. Covell helped the Bulls to a 13th place team finish of the 40 teams in the Men’s Gold Invitational race.  This is Caleb’s 3rd race in a row leading the Bulls.  
 
Dismas Koech, Toledo
Junior – Eldoret, Kenya/St. Patrick’s
Dismas Koech was the first Rocket to cross the finish line at the All-Ohio Championships race. Koech clocked a time of 25:06.0, a personal best, to place 29th overall. Koech's finish helped the Rockets to a 5th place team finish among the Division I teams present at the meet.
 
Sydney Meyers, Eastern Michigan
Senior – Zionsville, Indiana/Zionsville Community
Sydney Meyers continued her strong senior campaign at the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational Friday, Sept. 28, in South Bend, Ind. Going up against some of the top talent in the nation, Meyers proved to have her name in the mix with some of the best around the country, placing 14th with a final mark of 17:09.5. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in Eastern finishing with a team score of 262 points, which bested No. 21-ranked California (16th), as well as both MAC opponents, Miami (ninth) and Central Michigan (17th). With the co-captain's finish serving as the best among Eastern runners, she has now paced EMU in three consecutive meets, having collected first and fourth-place finishes at the George Dales Invite (Sept. 7) and Battle in Beantown (Sept. 21), respectively. Moreover, all three meets have been 5k's, with her performance this past weekend warranting her fastest finishing time this season.
 
Lauren Reyda, Buffalo
Junior – Fredonia, New York/Fredonia
Lauren Reyda ran her best race of her college XC career placing 9th of 363 runners in a time of 21:41. Her time was nearly 40 seconds faster than her previous best on the course. She help lead the Bulls to a 9th place finish in a field of 43 teams in the Paul Short Invitational Brown Race.
 
Maritza Rodriguez, Ball State
Junior – Indianapolis, Indiana/Ben Davis
Thanks to a career-best 5K time of 18:12.5, junior Maritza Rodriguez placed 52nd among 178 scored runners to lead the Ball State cross country team to the finish line of the Greater Louisville Classic last Saturday morning at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
 
Noah Schaub, Bowling Green
Senior – Uniontown, Ohio/Green
Noah Schaub was the first Falcon across the finish line, placing 13th out of 252. With a time of 24:06.4, Schaub recorded a new personal best in the 8k, beating his previous time by 11 seconds, which he recorded in Louisville last year during the Pre-Nationals event. Schaub has been the first of the team to finish in all of the Falcons' races this year. His pace has set the standard for the rest of the team.

Alesha Vovk, Miami
R-Senior – Lakewood, Ohio/St. Joseph Academy
For the fourth straight meet, redshirt senior Alesha Vovk lead the RedHawks as the highest-placed Miami finisher. At Friday's Joe Piane Invitational at Notre Dame, Vovk ran a personal record 17:22.5 to finish in the top 25.

Rachel Walny, Bowling Green
Senior – Clinton Township, Michigan/Chippewa Valley
Rachel Walny was the only representative in orange and brown for the Women's 5k in Louisville, and she made it count. With 226 athletes competing in the race, Walny came away with a sixth place finish, breaking her school record for the 5k in the process. Walny most recently broke the record at the Mel Brodt Collegiate Opener earlier this season with a time of 17:06.5. Once again, she shattered that time, finishing in 16:58.0 in Louisville. This is Walny's fourth time breaking the record for the Women's 5k event in three years.