SPARTANBURG, S.C. - College of Charleston's Dena O'Brien has been honored as the women's Southern Conference Runner of the Week for her performance during the weekend of September 24-25, the league office announced today.
The freshman from Pelham, Ala., won her first collegiate meet at the Citadel Invitational. Her time of 18:19.77 on the 5K course was 39 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. O'Brien helped lead the Cougars to a second place overall finish, and she has placed in the top four in every race so far this season.
College of Charleston's next meet is set for Oct. 1, at the Charlotte Invitational hosted by UNC Charlotte.
Other top performers included:
Lauren D'Alessio, a sophomore at Samford, was the top runner for Samford at the Memphis Twilight Invitational. The Birmingham, Ala., native finished with a time of 17:38.96, good enough for a fourth place individual finish. Her efforts led the Samford women to a fifth place finish as a team out of 32 teams. Lauren has the fastest recorded time for 5k this season in the SoCon.
Chloe Kowalski, a junior from Pensacola, Fla., helped paced Furman to a team win at the Citadel Invitational. Kowalski's time of 18:58.67 placed her second individually behind O'Brien. Kowalski is majoring in Individualized Curriculum.
Southern Conference Women's Runner of the Week
Week 1: Brittney Caudle, Appalachian State
Week 2: Anneli Uys, Chattanooga
Week 3: Lauren D'Alessio, Samford
Week 4: Dena O'Brien, College of Charleston