IUPUI Duo Zielinski, Zajac Garner Cross Country Athlete of the Week Honors
IUPUI Duo Zielinski, Zajac Garner Cross Country Athlete of the Week Honors
ELMHURST, Ill. – IUPUI's Joey Zielinski and Rachel Zajac were named The Summit League's Men's and Women's Athletes of the Week for their performances Sept. 17-23.
MEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Joey Zielinski, IUPUI
So. // South Bend, Ind.
Zielinski earns his first career Athlete of the Week award after leading the Jaguars to a program-best fourth-place team finish at the Indiana Intercollegiates. The sophomore finished 13th among a field of runners from nationally ranked No. 20 Indiana and two regionally ranked teams from the Great Lakes region, No. 8 Purdue and No. 10 Indiana State. Zielinski's posted a league-best 8k time of 25:33.08.
Also nominated: Taylor Crowell, Fort Wayne.
Previous honorees: 9/3 – Joel Reichow, South Dakota State; 9/10 – Sam Roudebush, IUPUI & Joel Reichow, South Dakota State; 9/17 – Mark Holt, Western Illinois.
WOMEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Rachel Zajac, IUPUI
Sr. // St. John, Ind.
Zajac captures her third Athlete of the Week honor this season after a top-10 finish at the Indiana Intercollegiates in a field of runners from one nationally ranked team No. 30 Butler and two Great Lakes region ranked teams, No. 7 Indiana and No. 14 Purdue. The St. John, Ind., native crossed the finish line with a 5k time of 18:28.31. She led IUPUI to a third-place team finish, its best finish in program history at the Indiana Intercollegiates, and became the first Jaguar runner to finish in the top-10 at the race.
Also nominated: Julie Jeszenszky, Fort Wayne; Lindsey Bruns, Omaha.
Previous honorees: 9/3 – Rachel Zajac, IUPUI; 9/10 – Rachel Zajac, IUPUI; 9/17 – Chelsea Lynes, Western Illinois.
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
In its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 120,000 at eight institutions, including three located in top 60 U.S. metro populations and two land-grant universities. Member institutions include: Denver (University of Denver), Fort Wayne (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), North Dakota State University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced eight NCAA Champions, 62 All-Americans and 50 Academic All-America selections.
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