Weekly cross country honors in the Summit League include athletes from South Dakota State and the University of South Dakota this week.
– Oral Roberts’ Jonathan Harper and South Dakota State’s Brendan Sage were named The Summit League’s Men’s Cross Country Athletes of the Week while Fort Wayne’s Brittany Beard and South Dakota’s Amber Eichkorn earned the Women’s Athletes of the Week honors for their performances Sept. 2-8.
MEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Jonathan Harper, Oral Roberts
Jr. // Farwell, Mich.
Harper collects his first career Athlete of the Week honor after setting a personal best at the JK Gold Classic last week. The junior ran a 6k time of 19:05.16, which ranks second in The Summit League this season. Harper competed against runners from Kansas State and Wichita State, placing 13th out of 129.
Brendan Sage, South Dakota State
So. // Saint Michael, Minn.
Sage earns the first Athlete of the Week award of his career following a third-place performance at the Oz Memorial, hosted by Minnesota. The sophomore’s 6k time of 19:06.5 ranks third in the league and set a new personal best. Sage only finished behind runners from Drake and Minnesota.
Also nominated: Gabe O’Keefe, Fort Wayne; Joey Zielinski, IUPUI; Brant Haase, South Dakota.
Previous honorees: Sept. 2 – Brant Haase, USD.
WOMEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Brittany Beard, Fort Wayne
So. // Angola, Ind.
Beard captures the Athlete of the Week award for the first time in her career after a first-place finish at the EIU Walt Crawford Open last week. She crossed the finish line with a time of 18:15.6 in the 5k race, which ranks third in the league this season. Beard’s individual win for the Mastodons was the team’s first since 2008.
Amber Eichkorn, South Dakota
Jr. // Wichita, Kan.
Eichkorn records her first career honor after a first-place finish at the Augustana Twilight where she defeated 265 other competitors. Her time of 15:48.11 in the three mile race was seven seconds ahead of the second-place finisher from Nebraska. South Dakota also took first place out of 22 schools in the event.
Also nominated: Leah Brooks, IUPUI; Ashley Kildow, Omaha; Samantha Watson, Oral Roberts.
Previous honoree: Sept. 2 – Erin Teschuk, NDSU.
