Butler & Andrews Selected Week 5 Runners of the Week
Men’s Runner of the Week
Griffin Butler, Ohio
Junior – Newark, Ohio/Licking Valley
Griffin Butler led the charge for Ohio at the Louisville Cross Country Classic on Saturday, Oct. 5 in Louisville, Ky. Butler finished first among Ohio runners and 23rd overall out of 373 runners, putting up a time of 24:18.3. This was a personal record for Butler in the 8K race.
Women’s Runner of the Week
Mackenzie Andrews, Akron
Senior – Toowoomba, Australia/Fairholm College
Akron senior Mackenzie Andrews continued her dominating run of performances in 2019 leading the Zips' women's squad across the finish line for the third consecutive race at the Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Oct. 4, on the strength of a 5K time of career-best 17:00.49 en route to placing third. She helped lead the Zips to a fifth-place team finish in the Gold Division.
Other Nominees
Emily Akin, Miami
Sophomore – Hudson, Ohio/Hudson
Miami sophomore Emily Akin had perhaps her best performance in Red and White as she led the RedHawks on Saturday at Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invitational. She finished 13th in the Gold Division race at the meet, running a 5K time of 17:23.96. This helped propel the 'Hawks to a second-place team finish.
Andre Bollam-Godbott, Akron
Junior – Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick
Akron junior Andre Bollam-Godbott took top-team honors in the men's five-mile race at the Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Oct. 4, registering a time of 24:30.91 to finish seventh in the Gold Division. His efforts helped the Zips place fourth in the team standings, while crossing the line first for Akron in the third consecutive race this season.
Hailey Bowes, Ohio
Junior – Arlington Heights, Illinois/John Hersey
Bowes is another Bobcat who ran a personal record at the Louisville Cross Country Classic on Saturday, Oct. 5. She finished the 5K race with a time of 17:42.8, placing 31st out of 343 competitors.
Caleb Covell, Buffalo
Junior – Rochester, New York/Eastridge HD
Caleb Covell became the first UB runner ever to break 24-minute mark (23:58.60) at the Paul Short Invite, placing 31st in an extremely deep field of 392 men in the Gold 8k race. Caleb’s time is now a career-best at the Paul Short Invite, by nearly a full minute.
Alexia Hecico, Buffalo
Freshman – Baia Mare, Romania/Vasili Lucaciu National College
Alexia Hecico ran a very competitive race, leading the Bulls to a third-place team finish in the Brown 6k race at the Paul Short Invite out of 46 schools. She finished the race with a career-best time of 21:42.77. She placed 18th of 370 runners.
Charlie Harders, Miami
Sophomore – Western Springs, Illinois/Lyons Township
Charlie Harders led a spirited Miami performance at Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invitational as the RedHawk men tied for first place in the Gold division race at the meet. He grabbed himself a top-ten finish with a run of 24:31.68, which easily goes down as the best time of the season and of his career. Harders goes down as the fourth different RedHawk to lead Miami across MU's four meets so far this season.
Kyle Hibinger, Bowling Green
Junior – Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth
Coming in first for the Bowling Green Falcons in the Louisville XC Classic men's 8k was junior Kyle Hibinger coming in 52nd overall with a time of 24:40.5. In his second race of the 2019 season, Hibinger ran a new personal best in an 8k race. His previous best time was 25:12.3, which he ran in last year's Louisville XC Classic (Sept. 29, 2018).
Maritza Rodriguez, Ball State
Senior – Indianapolis, Indiana/Ben Davis
Ball State senior Maritza Rodriguez shattered her previous career best 5K time by nearly 40 seconds and led all MAC runners to the finish line in the Gold Race of the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic by clocking in at 17:33.0 Saturday morning. Not only is it Ball State's fastest time on the EP "Tom" Sawyer State Park course in seven all-time runs in the Louisville Classic, it's also the fastest 5K for a Ball State cross country runner since Ali Bishel won the Women's Big State Race at the 2009 Indiana Intercollegiate with a time of 17:28. In addition, Rodriguez led the Cardinals to a 14th-place team finish among the 39 teams, which is Ball State's best finish in a Gold Race at the Louisville Classic. Ball State was the top finishing MAC school in the race, beating both Bowling Green (19th) and Ohio (28th).
Emily Shelton, Central Michigan
Sophomore – Minooka, Illinois/Minooka
Sophomore Emily Shelton continued to lead the Central Michigan cross country team as she placed a team-best 31st in a field of 184 runners in the gold race at the Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational. It marked the Chippewas' fourth competition of the season. Shelton has been the first CMU runner to cross the finish line in all four.
Katerina Shuble, Bowling Green
Sophomore – LaPorte, Indiana/LaPorte
In her second race of the 2019 season, sophomore Katerina Shuble would finish first for the Bowling Green Falcons at 46th place overall with a time of 17:53.8. With this finish, Shuble improved upon her previous time for a 5k race earned in last season's Mel Brodt Invitational when she ran unattached.
