Oakland's Bowman, Valparaiso's Richardson Collect Runner of the Week Honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Oakland sophomore Andrew Bowman (Marlette, 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. 29 - Oct. 5. Bowman and Richardson collect the award for the second time this season, respectively.

The Oakland men’s cross country team competed at the Notre Dame Invitational this past Friday. The squad faced 23 other teams, placing 10th overall with 276 points.

Bowman led the Golden Grizzlies on the 5-mile course to finish 21st out of 181 fellow competitors. The sophomore crossed the finish line in a time of 24:40.6.

The Valparaiso women’s cross country team also participated in the Notre Dame Invitational. There were 27 women’s teams represented while the Crusaders placed 21st overall with 567 points.

Richardson led Valparaiso throughout the 5K course to place sixth against 216 other runners. Her time of 16:58.5 set the second-fastest time in Crusader history and beat her personal record by 53 seconds.

Oakland returns to competition Friday, October 10th at the Michigan Intercollegiate while Valparaiso takes a short break and  joins Oakland in two weeks at the Bradley Invite on October 17th.

Top Male Runners of the Week:
Colin Creagh, Detroit (Sr.): Posted a personal best 8K record by 51 seconds to lead Detroit at the Greater Louisville Classic. Recorded the fastest time by a Titan at the event and finished the race with a time of 25:02 to place 54th.
Andrew Lake, Wright State (Fr.): Led Wright State at the All-Ohio Championships placing 157th overall in the 8K with a time of 27:04.
Marcus Paulson, Milwaukee (Sr.): Had a season-best time of 24:52.22 at the national Greater Louisville Classic Saturday, taking 41st overall against some of the top teams in the nation. His time helped Milwaukee to a 13th place finish out of 28 teams, overall.
David Rutkowski, Valparaiso (Sr.): Led Valparaiso at the Notre Dame Invite, placing 114th in the 5-mile with a time of 25:56.9.

Top Female Runners of the Week:
Zeinab Baydoun, Detroit (Sr.): Led Detroit for the third-straight week, setting a personal record in the 5K with a time of 18:47. Placed 40th overall at the Greater Louisville Classic out of 352 competitors.
Alexandra Brown, Wright State (So.): Competed at the All-Ohio Championships and was the top-finished for Wright State in the 6K, placing 68th overall with a time of 23:31.
Ashley Burr, Oakland (So.): Top female Oakland runner at the Notre Dame Invite, placing 19th overall in the 5K with a time of 17:23.1.
Leah Holmes, Milwaukee (So.): Holmes posted a career-best time of 18:03.59 for a 59th place finish overall. It was the third time this season she has led Milwaukee, which finished 28th overall against some of the top teams in the country.
Ashlyn Woods, Cleveland State (So.): Cleveland State’s top runner for the third consecutive race while setting a personal record in the 6K with a time of 23:37.

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
Sept. 22: Alex Bashqawi, UIC
Sept. 29: Andrew Bowman, Oakland

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
Sept. 22: Tess Ehrhardt, UIC
Sept. 29: Jessica Richardson, Valparaiso