University of Evansville cross country coach Don Walters recently honored seven of his runners at the end-of-the-year cross country banquet at the UE?Carson Center.
Sophomore male standout Greg Pulscher (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and senior female stars Andrea Sonnenschein (Poy Sippi, Wis./Berlin) and Andrea Hoy (Mt. Vernon, Ill./Mt. Vernon Township) garnered the program’s “Most Valuable Runner”?awards on the male and female side, respectively. Freshman Ben Kennard (Princeton, Ind./Princeton Community) and sophomore Katelyn Sandy (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte) took home UE’s “Most Improved Runner” awards, while former Evansville Memorial standout Ryan Witters (Evansville,?Ind.) and Indianapolis native Melissa Truex (Perry Meridian) captured UE’s “Outstanding Freshman” awards.
Pulscher took home UE’s “Most Valuable Runner”?award on the men’s side after leading the Purple Aces in each of its eight meets this season. Pulscher posted seven Top 25 individual finishes, including taking home overall titles at both the UAH Fleet Feet Sports/Earl Jacoby Memorial and the Tennessee Tech Invitational. Pulscher placed 20th overall at the State Farm MVC Championship in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and earned MVC Scholar-Athlete Team honors for his work in the classroom as well.
Sonnenschein and Hoy, meanwhile, shared the “Most Valuable Runner”?award for 2007 after running first and second for UE this season. Sonnenschein capped an outstanding four-year career at UE this past fall by posting six Top 10 individual finishes, while also lowering her own school record in the 5-K?with a mark of 17:30.16 at the 2007 UE?Invitational. Sonnenschein also earned MVC Scholar-Athlete Team honors by placing 16th overall at the State Farm MVC Championships. Hoy, meanwhile, had her best season as a Purple Ace as a senior, setting new career standards in both the 4-K?(15:53.81)?and 5-K?(18:44.19) events, including breaking the 19-minute barrier in the 5-K?twice in late October.
Kennard earned UE’s “Most Improved Male Runner” award after cutting nearly five minutes off of his 8-K?time over the course of his rookie season. He went from posting a time of 33:02.6 in his first collegiate 8-K?meet at the Earl Jacoby Memorial on September 8 to clocking in with a time of 28:16.76 on October 13 at the UE?Invitational. Sandy took home UE’s “Most Improved Runner”?award on the women’s side after trimming over three and a half minutes off of her season-best 5-K?time over the course of the season. She also cut over a minute off of her career-best 5-K?time from a year ago, clocking in with a mark of 22:27.20 in the 5-K?at the UE?Invitational.
Witters garnered “Outstanding Male Freshman” honors after consistently running second for UE for much of the year. His rookie year was highlighted by a third place finish at the Tennessee Tech Invitational, and a career-best 8-K?mark of 25:56.99 at the 2007 UE?Invitational. It ranks as one of the top 50 8-K?times on record at UE.
Truex, meanwhile, captured UE’s “Outstanding Female Freshman”?award after developing into a consistent top four finisher for UE as a rookie. Truex ran fourth or better for UE in all but two of the Purple Aces’ eight meets this year, including racing second for Evansville in the NCAA?Great Lakes Regional Championships in a 6-K time of 23:55.38.
