Wednesday, September 16, 2009

MACON, Ga. -= At Friday’s PowerAde Invitational Kennesaw State’s Mackenzie Howe won back-to-back races for the first time in her career. In honor of her achievement, she earned her second consecutive Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week, the conference office announced on Wednesday.

Howe won the UTC PowerAde Invitational, hosted by University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, on Friday, with a two-mile time of 11:15. The junior, from Watkinsville, Ga., led the Owls to a third-place finish overall in a meet that included A-Sun rival Mercer and squads from regionally-ranked Middle Tennessee and Chattanooga. Howe finished fourth in the same race last year. The award marked her sixth of her career, tying her with Georgia State’s Jenn Feenstra (2001-2004) for the most won in a career.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers
Rachel Deline, Campbell (So. - Belleville, Ontario. –- Undeclared) –Deline took a seventh-place finish for the Camels in the 5K Seahawk Invitational with a time of 18:47.22. This comes after Deline and Sophomore Monica Vargas finished fourth in the distance relay at the Campbell Invitational.

Kacie Niemann, Mercer (Fr. - Louisville, Ky. - Undeclared) – In the second race of her collegiate career this past weekend at the PowerAde Invitational, she placed fifth, a top finisher for the Mercer women's squad. The previous week, Niemann shattered the Mercer women's 5K record in her first collegiate meet.