CROWDER NAMED VALLEY FEMALE CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Senior Jessica Crowder has been named Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Female Athlete of the Week for September 1-7.

Crowder, a senior from Farmersburg, Ind. (North Central) won the 2003 Sycamore Pride meet this past weekend with a time of 14.17.80, the fastest women’s time at the meet since the distance changed from a 5K to a 4K in 1999. Crowder, who also won the event in 2000, finished over 42 seconds faster than second-place finisher Mailea Venable, also of Indiana State, who crossed the finish line in 14:59.80.

Crowder is the third Sycamore this week to be recognized by the MVC. Junior Ashlie Voerg was named MVC Offensive Player of the Week in women's soccer, while junior right tackle Fred Freitag was named Gateway Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week.