ST. LOUIS – For the second time in as many weeks, Illinois State sophomore Rachel Hickey was chosen as the Missouri Valley Conference women's Runner of the Week. The weekly MVC award marks the third overall award and the second in cross country for the Peru, Illinois native.
After running the Valley's fastest 6K last week, Hickey built off that momentum and improved her 5K time by 13 seconds for the top time of the weekend and the third-fastest 5K in the Valley this year.
Finishing 14th overall in the Gold Division at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, Hickey ran a personal-best time of 17:24.29, which was the best time ran by a member of a Valley school in any division at the meet.
Hickey's performance led the Redbirds to a ninth-place team finish out of 25 teams in the Gold Division, beating fellow MVC opponents Indiana State and Valparaiso. Of the four Missouri Valley teams running at the Joe Piane Invitational, ISU's 254 points were the lowest of any team competing no matter the division.
UP NEXT
Hickey and the Redbirds are back in action on Friday, Oct. 18 at the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Illinois. The first race is slated to begin at 3 p.m.
