Detroit's Kendell and Valparaiso's Richardson Garner Runner of the Week Honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Detroit freshman Ben Kendell (Huntington Woods, Mich.) is the Horizon League Men’s Runner of the Week, while Valparaiso senior Jessica Richardson (Columbus, Ind.) is the Horizon League Women’s Runner of the Week for the week of Sept. 15-21. Kendell collects the honor for the second-time this season.

The Detroit men’s cross country team traveled to the National Catholic Championships at Notre Dame to compete against 11 other squads. The team placed five runners in the Top 50, totalling 154 points to take sixth place.

Kendell made his collegiate debut in the 8K, leading the Titans for the second-straight week on the course. The freshman completed the distance in a time of 25:27 to claim 12th place in a field of 183 runners. Kendell’s time was the fastest run by a Titan since 2005, when Mead Goedert recorded the same time.

The Valparaiso women’s cross team traveled across the United States border to compete at the Western Invitational in London, Ontario, Canada at Thames Valley Golf course. The team took eighth place overall at the event.

Richardson paced the Crusaders in the 5K race with a third-place finish. The senior crossed the finish line in a time of 17:59 against 111 fellow runners.

Top Male Runners of the Week:
Austin McLean, Youngstown State (Jr.): Led the Penguins for the third time this year at the Iona Meet of Champions. Finished the 8K in a time of 26:16 to take 18th overall. His performance was a meet-record by any Penguin in school history.
Kameron Powell, Wright State (Jr.): Placed 22nd at the Friendship Invitational with an 8K time of 27:15.
David Rutkowski, Valparaiso (Sr.): Top Crusader finisher at the Western Invitational while finishing the 8K in a time of 26:54.

Top Female Runners of the Week:
Zeinab Baydoun, Detroit (Sr.): Led Detroit for the third-straight week at the National Catholic Championships. Finished the 5K in a time of 18:51 to take 31st overall.
Vanessa Hopwood, Wright State (Jr.): Finished 10th at the Friendship Invitational with a 5K time of 19:26.
Michelle Klim, Youngstown State (So.): Was the top-finisher for Youngstown State for the first time in her career. Finished the 6K race in a time of 23:23.02 to take 27th place overall.
Ashlyn Woods, Cleveland State (So.): Cleveland State’s top finisher for the second-straight week. Finished the 5K race in a time of 19:15 to place sixth overall.

Men’s Runners of the Week
Aug. 25: Andrew Bowman, Oakland
              Austin McLean, Youngstown State
Sept. 2: Austin McLean, Youngstown State
             Ben Kendell, Detroit
Sept. 9: Kyle Hauser, UIC
Sept. 15: Ben Kendell, Detroit

Women’s Runners of the Week
Aug. 25: Ashley Burr, Oakland
Sept. 2: McKinsie Klim, Youngstown State
Sept. 9: Tess Ehrhardt, UIC
Sept. 15: Jessica Richardson, Valparaiso