Youngstown State's Hamilton, Rupe Earn Cross Country Runner of the Week Honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State senior Samantha Hamilton (North Jackson, Ohio) has been named Horizon League Women’s Runner of the Week, while junior teammate Eric Rupe (Cortland, Ohio) has been named Horizon League Men’s Runners of the Week for the week of Oct. 14-20.

The duo is coming off impressive showings at the Indiana State Pre-National Invitational, home of the 2013 NCAA Division I Championship.

Hamilton completed the 6K course in a time of 20:41.07 to finish the 227 runner “white race” in third-place. Her time set a program record for the fastest time at the event and led Youngstown State to a ninth-place finish out of 35 teams. Kelsey Santisteban of California won the race in a time of 20:18.45. For the season, Hamilton has competed in three races and has yet to finish outside the top-six. This is Hamilton’s second career Horizon League Women’s Runner of the Week honor.

Fresh off a win and personal-best 8K time at the Disney World Cross Country Classic on Oct. 12, Rupe bested the time by nearly four-seconds at the Indiana State Pre-National Invitational.  The junior completed the “white race” in 25:01.50 to finish in ninth-place out of 135 runners. Tanguy Pepiot of Oregon finished in first-place with a time of 24:45.24. This is the third career Horizon League Men’s Runner of the Week honor for Rupe.

Youngstown State is back in action on Nov. 2 when it plays host to the Horizon League Cross Country Championship. The race takes place at the Boardman High School Cross Country Course.

Top Runners of the Week:
Gerrit Bruni, Milwaukee (So., Baraboo, Wis.) - Helped the Panthers to a tenth-place showing at the Bradley “Pink” Classic. His personal-best 8K time of 25:27, which placed him in 42nd out of 226 runners, was a full minute faster than his time 2012 event time.
Ryan Hofsess, Detroit (Jr., Milford, Mich.) - Led the Titans for the first time this season at the Penn State National. Finished in sixth-place out of 65 runners on the 5.2-mile course with a time of 26:45.
Photis Karkalis, UIC (Fr., Palos Heights, Ill.) - Completed the 8K course at the Indiana State Pre-National Invitational in a time of 25:59.57 to place 49th in the “white race.”
Dan Shafer, Wright State (Sr., Painesville, Ohio) - Led the Raiders to a second-place finish at the #JennaStrong Classic. Completed the 8K course in 25:03, good for second-place out of 416 runners.
Bryce Stroede, Oakland (Fr., Horton, Mich.) - Finished the Bradley “Pink” Classic in a time of 25:05, cutting over one minute off his previous 8K time, to place 24th.
Ally Anich, Milwaukee (Fr., Racine, Wis.) - Personal-best 6K time of 21:31 placed Anich in 14th place out of 238 runners at the Bradley “Pink” Classic.
Louisa Coppola, Detroit (Sr., Warren, Mich.) - Led Detroit for the fifth time this season with a personal-best 6K time of 21:52 to register a seventh-place showing out of 94 runners at the Penn State National.
Tess Ehrnhardt, UIC (Jr., Geneva, Ill.) - Her 6K “white race” time of 21:31.70 put her in 17th at the Indiana State Pre-National Invitational.
Tori Holt, Cleveland State (Jr., Mount Vernon, Ohio) - Paced the Vikings and posted a personal-best 5K time of 19:11. Time put her in 26th place out of 398 runners at the #JennaStrong Classic.
Rachel Janson, Wright State (Sr., Dayton, Ohio) - Finished in 38th place at the #JennaStrong Classic. Her 5K time of 19:20 led the Raiders.
Sarah Mauel, Green Bay (So., Green Bay, Wis) - Finished the Bradley “Pink” Classic in 46th place with a 6K time of 22:02.
Sammy Mondry, Oakland (Fr., Grand Rapids, Mich.) - Led the Golden Grizzlies to a ninth-place showing at the Bradley “Pink” Classic. Completed the 6K course in 21:44, good for 27th place.

Cross Country Runners of the Week:
Sept. 3 Michael Cox (Oakland); Louisa Coppola (Detroit)
Sept. 9 Eric Rupe (Youngstown State); Louisa Coppola (Detroit)
Sept. 16 Weston Brusky (Milwaukee); Samantha Hamilton (Youngstown State)
Sept. 23 Martin Nelkie (Detroit); Jessica Richardson (Valparaiso)
Sept. 30 Photis Karkalis (UIC); Tess Ehrhardt (UIC)
Oct. 7 Dan Shafer (Wright State); Tess Ehrhardt (UIC)
Oct. 14 Eric Rupe (Youngstown State); Tess Ehrhardt (UIC)
Oct 21 Eric Rupe (Youngstown State); Samantha Hamilton (Youngstown State)