BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for cross country on Tuesday. Student-athletes from Saint Benedict and St. Olaf claimed the Conference's weekly honors.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference's sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the fall season, team sports (football, soccer and volleyball) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (cross country and golf) announced on Tuesday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances.
To view each sport's 2023-24 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2023-24 Athlete of the Week archive for complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Will Kelly
St. Olaf College
Sr.
Golf, Ill. | Glenbrook South
Will Kelly placed second overall to lead all MIAC competitors at the Blugold Invitational on 9/29 with a time of 24:38.70. The senior was just 7.7 seconds out of first place while posting the third-fastest 8K time of his career to lead the nationally-ranked Oles to a second-place team finish behind UW-Whitewater.
MIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Fiona Smith
College of Saint Benedict
Sr.
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Fiona Smith set a course record for the third straight race with a time of 20:21.7 to win the Blugold Invitational on 9/29. The 6K time is the second-fastest in program history. Smith led the field of more than 170 runners by 55 seconds at the 3K split and finished with a nearly 1:42-second margin of victory.