ST LOUIS, Mo. -- Illinois State cross country senior Ryan Rutherford and sophomore transfer Ariel Michalek swept the Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country athlete of the week honors, as announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon.
This marks the second time Rutherford has received the weekly honor after competing at the Griak Invitational. He also won weekly accolades after competing in the same meet last season with an 8K time of 24:26 to finish 16th, while the award marks Michalek's first honor in a Redbird uniform.
Battling temperatures in the 80's and hilly terrain, senior standout Rutherford raced to a top-15 finish at the challenging Roy Griak Invitational Saturday afternoon. Rutherford hung with the top-five through 4,000-meters. He slowed back to 20th, but with 1,000-meters left fought his way to place 13th. In a field of 301 racers from around the country, including top athletes from No. 19 North Carolina, No. 27 Iowa State and No. 29 Colorado State, Rutherford proved he can compete with the best, finishing with an 8,000-meter time of 25:17, which was just four seconds shy of a top-10 finish.
Michalek led the Redbird women Saturday, finishing 87th in a field of 390 women. Michalek clocked a 6,000-meter time of 22:57 to lead the ISU group. The Wisconsin transfer battled against some of the nation's top teams, including No.3 Michigan State, No. 9 Iowa State, No. 11 Butler, No. 28 Minnesota and No. 30 North Carolina.
The Redbirds are back in action Friday, Oct. 17, as they travel to Peoria for the Bradley Classic. Race time is slated for 4:25 p.m.
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