ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Following an emphatic team performance this past weekend, University of Evansville cross country freshman James Cruse (Melbourne, Australia) has been named Missouri Valley Conference Men's Runner of the Week, it was announced in a release by the Conference office on Monday afternoon.

Cruse finished tops among collegiate competition at the Panther Prowl Cross Country Classic in Owensboro, Ky. on Friday evening. The freshman completed the 6k course in a time of 18:48.3, besting the second-place collegiate runner by eight seconds. As a team, Evansville captured five of the top 10 collegiate times while earning the team title, its first since the Fleet Foot Invitational in 2013.

The honor is the first for a UE men's cross country runner since Stanley Chepchieng earned MVC Runner of the Week recognition on September 25th, 2018 and the first UE runner from either squad since Anna Lowry on September 24, 2019.

Evansville's men's and women's cross country teams are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 20th when the Aces travel to Terre Haute, Ind. to compete in the John McNichols Invitational hosted by Indiana State.