SDSU’s Sage, IPFW’s Beard Garner Weekly #SummitXC Honors

10/7/2014 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. – South Dakota State's Brendan Sage and Fort Wayne's Brittany Beard were named The Summit League's Cross Country Athletes of the Week for their performances Sept. 30-Oct. 6.

MEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Brendan Sage, South Dakota State
So. // Saint Michael, Minn.
Sage claims his second Athlete of the Week award of his career and the season after capturing the individual title at the SDSU Classic. He led the Jackrabbits to a second-place team finish ahead of Summit League foe South Dakota, which was ranked 12^th in the Midwest Region entering the race. In the final stretch of the race, the sophomore edged out USD's Brant Haase by less than two seconds to record an 8k time of 25:23.95, nearly 30 seconds faster than his previous meet best. Winning his first individual collegiate crown, Sage is the fourth Jackrabbit to win the SDSU Classic.

Also nominated: Gabe O'Keefe, Fort Wayne; Joey Zielinski, IUPUI; Lucas DeGree, North Dakota State; Ryan Masey, Oral Roberts; Brant Haase, South Dakota.

Previous honorees: Sept. 2 – Brant Haase, South Dakota; Sept. 9 – Jonathan Harper, Oral Roberts/Brendan Sage, South Dakota State; Sept. 16 – Mark Holt, Western Illinois; Sept. 23 – Joey Zielinski, IUPUI; Sept. 30 – Mubarik Musa, South Dakota.

WOMEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Brittany Beard, Fort Wayne
So. // Angola, Ind.
Beard collects her third Athlete of the Week honor of the season and her career after winning the individual title at 2014 Great Louisville Cross Country Classic. The Angola, Ind., native took first out of 404 runners with a league-best and school-record 5k time of 17:35.76. As a team, the Mastodons finished runner-up.

Also nominated: Valeria Guzman, IUPUI; Abbi Aspengren, North Dakota State; Ashley Kildow, Omaha; Samantha Watson, Oral Roberts; Amber Eichkorn, South Dakota; Cheyanne Bowers, South Dakota State.

Previous honoree: Sept. 2 – Erin Teschuk, North Dakota State; Sept. 9 – Brittany Beard, Fort Wayne/Amber Eichkorn, South Dakota; Sept. 16 – Lydia Smith, Western Illinois; Sept. 23 – Brittany Beard, Fort Wayne; Sept. 30 – Erin Teschuk, North Dakota State.

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 nine institutions, including four 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), Oral Roberts University, 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 along with over 65 All-Americans, 60 Academic All-America selections and numerous former student-athletes competing at the highest professional level. For more information about the league and to "See The Summit", visit www.thesummitleague.org, follow on Twitter @thesummitleague, download The Summit League's Front Row app, and watch the weekly "Inside The Summit League" show at www.thesummitleague.org/itsl.

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