FERRIS' JENNY IRWIN RECEIVES GLIAC RUNNER OF THE WEEK KUDOS
Senior Standout Earns League Weekly Award Recognition
Senior Jenny Irwin (Scottville/Mason County Central) of the 2005 Ferris State women's cross country team has claimed Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Runner of the Week Award recognition for her performance at last Friday's (Sept. 23) Bulldog Invitational held at FSU's Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Mich. The announcement was made Wednesday (Sept. 28) by the league office.
Irwin claimed the overall women's title in the 30th-straight running of the home event as she clocked 18:00.10 in a field of 99 competitors. Her performance helped guide the Bulldogs to a third-place team finish in their only regular-season home meet of the season. It was her third consecutive overall championship in as many races this season as she also emerged victorious in the Northern Michigan Invitational (Sept. 10) and the season-opening Central Michigan Drenth Memorial (Sept. 2).
Irwin previously received All-America honors with a fourth-place (4:30.60) finish in the 1,500 meters at the 2005 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships (May 26-28) held at Abilene Christian University's Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene, Texas. In the process, she became the 11th track and field athlete in FSU women's history to earn outdoor All-America recognition and the school's first since 2002. The first-team 2004 All-GLIAC Cross Country pick also took part in the 2005 NCAA-II Indoor Championships (March 11-12) held at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Mass., where she took 11th place in the mile run (4:58.38) and earned All-America kudos as part of the school's eighth-place distance medley relay team (11:56.52).
Irwin, who was honored as FSU's Most Valuable Women's Track Athlete last season, placed second overall in both the 1,500 meters (4:34.90) and the 3,000 meters (10:11.17) at the 2005 GLIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships (May 5-6) in Allendale, Mich. A 2004-05 All-GLIAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field honoree, Irwin won the 3,000 meters (10:12.08) a year ago at the league's indoor championships (Feb. 25-26) in University Center, Mich. She holds or shares six school women's track and field records in the distance events.
Irwin was also chosen to compete in the 24th annual NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Championships (Nov. 20) held last year in Evansville, Ind. She advanced individually to the national championships by virtue of her seventh place All-Great Lakes Region performance at the 2004 NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championships (Nov. 6) in Edwardsville, Ill. Irwin took 46th place (23:16.8) at the national cross country meet and was honored as the team's MVP. Her performance helped the Bulldogs to a number eight national ranking during the 2004 regular season.
This week marks the second time Irwin has earned the GLIAC Runner of the Week Award in her career as she also received the same recognition once last campaign.
The Ferris State women's cross country team will take part in the annual Loyola Lakefront Invitational Saturday, Oct. 1, in Chicago, Ill. The event is set to begin at 11 a.m. (EDT).
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