Smith Named SLC Athlete Of The Week
10/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 16, 2012
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin senior Lauren Smith was named the Southland Conference Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, the first time a Ladyjack has claimed the honor this season.
It is the second time the reigning SLC individual champion has claimed a league weekly honor in her career, doing so nearly one year ago to the day when she became the first Ladyjack since 2009 to take the award.
This time it was her performance at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., which brought her deserved recognition. She finished eighth overall out of 313 runners in one of the largest meets in the nation, covering the 6,000-meter course in just 21:10.2.
She was the first runner from the Southland to cross the line and was third among competitors from the South Central Region on the same course, which will host the NCAA South Central Regional Meet on Nov. 9.
Her performance also helped SFA to an 11th-place finish out of 43 teams, including tops among Southland Conference teams.
Smith and the Ladyjacks will next hit the course on Oct. 26 in Beaumont when they take part in the Southland Conference Championships at Terrell Park.
-SFA-
