CLEVELAND – Kelsey Hildreth of the Northern Illinois University women’s cross country team was named Mid-American Conference Runner of the Week, the league announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Hildreth (Byron, Ill./Byron) earned the award for the first time in her NIU career after posting the best six-kilometer time ever recorded by a Huskie sophomore at 21:35 and finishing seventh at Minnesota’s prestigious Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday.

Competing against some of the nation’s top runners and a field of more than 200 women's Division I runners, Hildreth proved that she can run right with the best collegiate cross country has to offer. Despite sitting in 75th place after the first kilometer, Hildreth moved her way up through the pack and eventually secured an impressive and comfortable top-10 finish on Minnesota’s challenging 6K Les Bolstad Course.

After Saturday’s race, NIU cross country head coach Adrian Myers praised his top runner for her performance while racing against the country’s best.

“Kelsey truly solidified herself as a national-caliber athlete today,” Myers said of Hildreth on Saturday. “She moved up very nicely to finish seventh overall in a national-class field. She’s on a great trajectory to perform very well during the championship season.”

With Tuesday’s announcement from the MAC, the NIU cross country program earned a conference Runner of the Week award for the first time in 13 years. The last and only Huskie to previously receive the honor was Alicja Czajka on Sept. 18, 2002.

The Huskies are currently in preparations for the most important portion of their schedule. NIU cross country will return to action at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct. 17 in Louisville, Ky., before the Huskies compete at the MAC Championships on Oct. 31 at Akron.

--NIU--