Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Mohamed Mohamed named MVC Athlete of the Week
10/06/2009 | 12:00:00 | Cross Country
Oct. 6, 2009
St. Louis, Mo. - This week's cross country athletes of the week are Bradley's Nicole Benson and Southern Illinois' Mohamed Mohamed. Each fared well at the prestigious Notre Dame Invitational this past weekend in Notre Dame, Ind.
Benson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S.) set a personal best 5K time of 17:37.00 and finished 57th of 178 at the 2009 Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational Friday in Notre Dame, Ind. Of the 22 women's teams at the Notre Dame Invitational, 10 were ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division I top-30 poll, while 10 more received regional rankings. Benson was the first Valley runner to cross the finish line, edging Illinois State's Jess Husted by 14 seconds. Her 5K time ranks second on this season's MVC season-best list, just one second behind Missouri State's Terry Phillips.
Running for the first time in two years, Mohamed Mohamed, a senior from Carol Stream, Ill., - the 2006 MVC individual champion - led the Saluki men's cross country team with an eighth place finish at the Notre Dame Invitational. He finished the 8K course with a time of 24:03 just four seconds before teammate Jeff Schirmer. The Salukis also took eighth place as a team beating out nationally ranked No. 28 Notre Dame and No. 30 Providence.
Meanwhile, there were no changes in the women's regional rankings, as five teams are again ranked in the Top 15 in the Midwest region, as the MVC is represented by Wichita State (8), Illinois State (11), Bradley (12), Missouri State (14) and Southern Illinois (15).
In the men's regional rankings, Indiana State is rated No. 8 in the Great Lakes region, while Southern Illinois (6) and Illinois State (11) represent the MVC in the Midwest region.
