UB & UT Take First Runner of the Week Accolades
Men’s Runner of the Week
Caleb Covell, Buffalo
Junior -Rochester, NY/Eastridge
Junior Caleb Covell had a strong start to the 2018 campaign on Friday night as he was able to collect a victory in the Bulls first event of the season at the Toledo Opener. Covell led a field full of MAC teams as he collected the victory in the 6k race in a career-best time of 18:33.00.
Women’s Runner of the Week
Athena Welsh, Toledo
Junior – Louisville, Ohio/St. Thomas Aquinas
Athena Welsh kicked off the 2018 cross country season with a first-place finish with a time of 14:21.5 at the Toledo Opener on Friday.
Other Nominees
Mark Beckmann, Central Michigan
Junior – Waterloo, Indiana/DeKalb
Beckmann finished second overall and led the Chippewas to a first-place finish in a field that included 22nd-ranked Michigan State. The Chippewas with a team score of 25, 15 ahead of the Spartans.
Madison Distelrath, Eastern Michigan
Sophomore – Fort Wayne, Indiana/Homestead
Sophomore Madison Distelrath placed third in the season opener Friday, Aug. 31, leading the Eagle harriers at the Toledo Opener. Distelrath's impressive time of 14:22.9 propelled the Green and White to a third-place team finish (90 points) and trailed the individual champion by just 1.9 seconds.
Cayla Eckenroth, Ball State
Sophomore – Novi, Michigan/Northville
With a 5K time of 18:37.1, sophomore Cayla Eckenroth led the Ball State cross country team to the finish line at the Butler Twilight for the second straight season, placing eighth out of 67 runners Friday evening at Northview Church in Carmel, Indiana.
Noelle Maire, Northern Illinois
Sophomore – Belleville, Wisconsin/Belleville
NIU sophomore Noelle Maire won the individual title at the season-opening NIU Huskie Challenge, helping to lead her team to the team crown as well. Maire was first across the line in the 5K event with a time of 15:41.5, a little more than three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Maire led six Huskies that finished in the top-10 as NIU won the event with a team score of 22, well ahead of second-place UIC (46).
Maria McDaniel, Western Michigan
R-Senior – Naperville, Illinois/Naperville North
In her first cross country meet since the fall of 2015, senior Maria McDaniel led the way for the Western Michigan cross country team at the Crusader Open on Friday evening as the captain finished eighth overall with a time of 18:00.4.
Megan O’Neil, Central Michigan
Senior – Stanwood, Michigan/Chippewa Hills
O'Neil finished more than 14 seconds ahead of runner-up Carlyn Arteaga of 15th-ranked Michigan State.
Andy Payne, Eastern Michigan
Freshman – Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington
Freshman Andy Payne had a strong showing in his Green and White debut over the weekend. Taking part in the Toledo Opener, Friday, Aug. 31, Payne paced the Eagles with a fourth-place finish, crossing the finish line in 18:54.6. Not only was his time the best out of EMU harriers, but it also served as the fastest out of all freshmen in the event and helped lift EMU to a first-place team finish (41 points).
Noah Schaub, Bowling Green
Senior – Uniontown, Ohio/Green
In his first race of the season, Schaub finished in second at the Toledo Rockets Invitational with a time of 18:46.4. Schaub participated in the same meet two years ago as a sophomore and finished fourth, showing improvement over the two-year period.
Katerina Shuble, Bowling Green
Freshman – LaPorte, Indiana/LaPorte
Running unattached, Katerina Shuble finished 14th in her first collegiate race with a time of 14:43.8. A freshman, Shuble was the first Falcon to cross the finish line.
